UK to spend $129bn on HS2 rail project
London, UK - The UK will spend as much as £100bn (US$129bn) on a controversial new high speed rail line linking London with central and northern cities, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson backed the plan despite rising costs.
The High Speed 2 (HS2) development will become Europe’s largest infrastructure project but it has suffered delays and criticism of its management, with spiraling cost estimates. The first trains may not start running until 2031.
Johnson believes the new line stretching from the capital to Birmingham and then on to Manchester and Leeds is vital to revive the economy in ‘left behind’ communities that backed Brexit and voted for his Conservative Party in last December’s election.
“The Cabinet has given high speed rail the green signal: We are going to get this done,” Johnson said as he announced his decision in parliament on Tuesday.
“Our generation faces a historic choice. We can try to get by with the existing routes from north to south. We can consign the next generation to overcrowding, standing up in the carriageways, or we can have the guts to take a decision, no matter how difficult and controversial, that will deliver prosperity to every part of the country.”
The project is highly sensitive politically for Johnson’s government. Backers of the plan say it will cut journey times, increase capacity, create jobs and help link northern and central parts of England to the wealthier south. Boosting the country’s former industrial heartlands is Johnson’s key political mission now that the UK has left the EU.
He won a majority in parliament largely thanks to persuading voters in these areas to back him, with some traditionally Labour-supporting districts electing Conservatives for the first time. But many Tory members of Parliament oppose HS2 because the line will cut through their districts, causing severe disruption for thousands of constituents. The project managers at HS2 Ltd have been attacked for delays and for failing to keep costs down.
The government commissioned a review of HS2, which concluded the case for going ahead was clear, despite the problems so far, Johnson said. He promised to review the costs and appoint a government minister with the full time job of overseeing the project.
“This country is being held back by our inadequate infrastructure,” the Prime Minister said. “Efficient transport can clean the air and cut pollution and get cars off the road,” he told the Commons.