The rail industry has reacted following the news that the Birmingham to Crewe leg of HS2 will be delayed by two years in order to cut costs. The announcement was made as Transport Secretary Mark Harper addressed Parliament yesterday (Thursday 9 March).
Citing inflationary pressures and the need to balance the nation’s books, Mr Harper announced that the next two years will be used to rephase construction and optimise future delivery of Phase 2a between Birmingham and Crewe. The aim, he said, was to deliver high-speed services to Crewe and the North West as soon as possible after accounting for the rephasing of construction.
Mr Harper said the Government has had to take tough decisions on what can be achieved within original timeframes: “Putin’s war in Ukraine has hiked up inflation, sending supply chain costs rocketing,” he said. “The responsible decisions I’ve outlined today will ensure we balance the budget at the same time as investing record sums in our transport network to help halve inflation, grow the economy and reduce debt.”
Industry bodies has reacted to the news with disappointment, particularly after the scrapping of HS2’s Eastern Leg in 2021, and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s announcement of his commitment to HS2 just last November.
Darren Caplan, chief executive of the Railway Industry Association (RIA) said: “…it is clearly disappointing to hear of this delay, which seems to prioritise short-termism over a structured, long-term strategy for what is Europe’s biggest infrastructure project. The delay postpones the immense benefits the project is set to deliver for the country, including extra capacity, more economic growth, improved connectivity – driving levelling up – and hundreds of thousands of jobs specifically in the Midlands and the North, and also to other parts of the UK more widely.
“This stop-start approach to a project is an inefficient use of taxpayers’ money, and could ultimately drive the project’s costs up, which is the opposite of what the Government is trying to do. We strongly urge the Government to push on with delivering the full HS2 scheme, including the Eastern Leg and the Golborne Link, or its replacement, as soon as possible.”
Jonathan Spruce, trustee for policy and external affairs at the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) commented: “Public infrastructure projects like HS2 are critical for economic growth, and meeting levelling up and net zero goals. They are an investment in our future, not a cost.
“The UK needs to think strategically about what we want our transport system to deliver. In the longer term, a national transport strategy, with a clear investment plan, would help ensure that the country gets the transport infrastructure it needs; reliable ways to get where we need to go, in a way that’s better for the planet.”
Commenting on the impact of the announcement for the North of England, Lord McLoughlin, chair of Transport for the North, stated: “The government needs to avoid being penny wise and pound foolish, as delays don’t necessarily lead to savings, and in fact can drive costs upwards.
“Nevertheless, the political leaders of the North who sit on our Board have made their collective position very clear – we must transform the North by building both HS2 and NPR in full.
“Taken together, both projects unlock the North’s economy from the existing position of poor infrastructure that has held it back. It is the communities and businesses across the North of England who are suffering most by any delay or inaction in delivering on these schemes.”
The Transport and travel union (TSSA) was more scathing in its criticism of the Government: “Ditching or delaying parts of HS2 just goes to show the poverty of ambition we see all too often when it comes to this government and our railways.
“HS2 is the key to our economy for decades to come and delays demonstrate just how hollow Ministerial promises of levelling up really were.
“The fact is HS2 built in full would turbo charge local and regional economies, build superb new infrastructure and provide many jobs. Not only that – the government knows that HS2 is central to the future of our railways and that rail is the cleanest and greenest way to travel and transport goods.
“This is a wholly short-sighted decision by a government unable to grip the future because it has been unable to grip inflation.”
Image credit: HS2
