HS2 Stock Image From Cheshire East Council

Rumours of the reinstatement of Phase 2a have been quashed by the transport secretary. Credit: Cheshire East Council

Final nail in the coffin for HS2 Northern phase

Transport secretary Louise Haigh dispelled rumours that the Birmingham-to-Crewe route of the high-speed rail line will be reinstated – and instead called for an “urgent review” of the project’s spiralling costs.

Last week reports were circling concerning the renewal of the project’s cancelled second phase, specifically Phase 2a, the leg between Birmingham and Crewe.

This has prompted the government to publicly double down on its refusal to explore HS2’s Northern leg. “The government has been clear it is not resurrecting Phase 2 of HS2”, a press release said.

The government said it understands concerns regarding connectivity between Birmingham and Manchester, but that its primary focus must now be the delivery of Phase 1 between London and Birmingham.

The decision suggests the region’s connectivity will rest heavily on the Midlands-North West rail plans put forward by Metro Mayors Andy Burnham and Richard Parker in September.

In July, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority also announced plans to expand the Bee Network with eight new routes stretching further out from the city centre.

HS2 heartbreak continues

Haigh has sent a letter to the chair of HS2 Ltd which highlighted the need for collective responsibility to turn the ever-growing costs around, having seen up close “the scale of failure in project delivery”, which she labelled as “dire”.

Haigh said: “Taxpayers have a right to expect HS2 is delivered efficiently, and I won’t stand for anything less.

“I have promised to work fast and fix things and that’s exactly why I have announced urgent measures to get a grip on HS2’s costs and ensure taxpayer’s money is put to good use,” she continued.

The Major Transport Projects Governance and Assurance Review, to be led by senior infrastructure delivery advisor James Stewart, will present its recommendations to the government in the winter.

The review will focus on the effectiveness of the government’s sponsorship and oversight model, corporate governance within HS2 Ltd, the procurement and management of main works civil contracts, as well as the effectiveness of various levels of assurance for the programme.

Drawing from prior experiences of HS2, the review will delve into the usefulness of forecasting and reporting costs, schedules, and benefits – and will consider potential cost-saving measures.

In addition, the project’s many contractors will have their agreements reconsidered, with some being renegotiated or amended.

Phase one of HS2’s development has been blighted by poor planning, inflationary pressures, and inefficient supply chains – explaining the reluctance of the government to commit to the project’s Northern leg.

HS2’s management is to be taken over by former Crossrail head, Mark Wild, who will become chief executive.

Mark Wild also has experience as managing director for the London Underground.

Wild will be required to provide the secretary of state with a cost-effective budget and realistic scheduling.

The government will continue to publish bi-annual reports on the project’s progress.

Haigh finished: “It’s high time we make sure lessons are learnt and the mistakes of HS2 are never repeated again.”

Your Comments

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Improve links within the North instead

By Anonymous

Yet, the missing line/link to Euston station will be built, costing the country billions more. It doesn’t matter who’s in power, Labour or Conservative, the money always get’s spent on London, one way or another, whilst the Northern cities miss out again.

By jrb

Whoever is in power the north misses out! We need to seriously look at some kind of self governing model for the North of England, Westminster cannot be trusted to represent the whole country.

By Anonymous

Hmm, didn’t CrossRail also massively overun in cost and time?

In order to fix the massively overbudget railway, they’ve recruited a Director that delivered a massively overbudget and delayed railway line?

There is zero accountability anywhere anymore.

By Anonymous

Great so we will end up with lower capacity than present thanks to congestion on the West Coast line north of Birmingham and the fact that HS2 trains are shorter and can’t tilt. Can someone put this point forcefully to the government please?

By Anonymous

London’s needs are always prioritised over the rest of the country. If HS2 had started in the north (without the ruinously expensive tunnelling to appease Home Counties nimbys) would it have been so over budget at this stage? The need for urgent transformational transport infrastructure across the north west (and north generally) is obvious but I don’t know how the London centric status quo can be changed in this country. Without real change the north will never get its fair share of infrastructure development. There’s also a danger that any northern development that might be allowed as a sop will be merely to the benefit of Manchester and not a properly regional solution which reaches all parts of the north west.

By Anonymous

Billions are spent on Londons the Midlands and the North the rest of the country are left with low million pound projects if their lucky.Thousands are dying or living in misery through lack of funds which are going to the privileged few areas and still they winge that they are hard done by. They should shut up and be grateful that they don’t struggle financially like the rest of us who are funding their lifestyles.

By Anonymous

The trains from London & Birmingham to Manchester can be taken via HS2 phase 1 to Handsacre, then the shortest route from there, an upgraded Stoke line. This takes these services off the WCML entirely, releasing capacity on the WCML. So capacity sorted. Stoke, that forgotten place, also gains.
.
This will give a time of 1 hour 30 minutes ‘at most’ from London to Manchester which is highly acceptable and very fast indeed.

By John

As usual for ” the North” just insert Manchester, Burnham can whinge all he likes about London getting the lion`s share but that`s all he wants for Manchester every time.

By Anonymous

You couldn’t make it up – the government is spending heading for a hundred billion pounds to make services between London and the northwest slower and lower capacity.

By Anonymous

Suppose this is only bad news if you catch a train

By Anonymous

The thing is nobody in the north wanted it anyway, so no complaints

By Anonymous

@October 21, 2024 at 5:24 pm
By Anonymous

Not really. It means money can be spent on rail capacity where needed ie northern urban conurbations rather than a vastly expensive toy.

By Anonymous

I know its easy for people outside London to whine. Reality, UK can only afford to keep one city at the first world standards high enough to attract and sustain international investment. That’s London otherwise investors will go elsewhere.

Other cities are only economic hubs for their surrounding ‘burbs.

Are the UK Gov going to provide the massive investment breaks to turn Port Talbot into something not reliant upon steel for job, or is it easier to finance winners and move the population to places more bankable?

By Anonymous

“Mistakes” happen by accident. That label does not and never has applied to HS2. Every single moral, political or fiscal decision has been made deliberately and in full possession of all knowledge passed in by various protest, including but not limited to that provided by 20MilesMore.

By Jeff

Unbelievable! HS2 has become a national embarrassment.

By Digbuth O'Hooligan

North v South .How about the SW Paddington to Penzance 5 plus hours if you’re lucky,plus no seats even though booked?

By Anonymous

Why did we ever need high speed rail? We are a small island with only hours between major cities it was a ‘we must have, because we invented railways and everyone else has them’ ism by the government. What we need is more caacity! What it needed was a dedicated freight route to relieve capacity on the main lines for more passenger train not shave 20 minutes off the time if the existing route but you have yo walk 20 minutes to the HS2 station to catch and be charged twice as much to travel the same distance on the already most expensive rail network in Europe.

By Philip Dickinson

An absolute disgrace, it’s not just about the trains, it was supposed to be about levelling up the whole of the north not just Manchester.
But it was just BS from both parties and now they’ve just made the north/south divide even greater.
A national embarrassment and an insult to everyone living above Birmingham.

By Alistair

A massive waste of public money, I have never witnessed such waste, UK should be leading the way in construction, this is the nail in the coffin.

By Anonymous

If you have cancelled hs2 North why are you not lifting the safeguarding, we have been living 8 years with this hanging over us.

By Anonymous

How long will it take you to get to a city-center train station to wait for a train; you might as well drive anyway; that will be faster. Who urgently needs to time-warp between the North and London and why? Has that been determined. It all sounds daft to me.

By Anonymous

It will need reinstating eventually. The main justification for HS2 was always capacity particularly the capacity that will be released across the existing network by removing conflict between fast and slow trains.

By Anonymous

Anonymous – there’s absolutely no way it’s ever quicker to drive to London than get the train from Manchester! Train takes 2 hours, driving takes at least 4…. and then you have to find a parking space! At least you can work on the train

By Anonymous

Hs2 is politically toxic. A good idea with chaotic implementation by the Tories. Surprise. The task now is to convince the DfT of other more cost effective ways of getting the trains to Liverpool and Manc whilst preserving the longer term options of more capacity in the west coast main line. Better to call for rail by passes than high speed railways. The first being the Shugborough tunnel by pass from Lichfield to Crewe (built on the HS2 alignment).

By Ian Wray

I find it really irritating, when the South West is brought into the mix. Beyond Bristol, which is very well served, the biggest place is Plymouth , which is as big as Stockport, Bolton and Wigan. How can Devon and Cornwall really need the same railway needs, as the 6 million people on the M62 between Liverpool and Manchester. Bradford would be the largest place after London, if it was South of Birmingham and isn’t even respected enough to have a station linking it to Leeds properly, it is like people in the North are living in a colony, the way they are treated. This contempt for 30 percent of the population of the U.K., is becoming personal now.

By Elephant

@October 22, 2024 at 11:13 am
By Anonymous
Agreed! It will have to be built at some point to ease WCML capacity issues, no logical way round this!

By HS3

Who cares? All focused on whether it gets to Manchester or not, not the north. Honestly could not care less whether London is reached 30 to 40 minutes faster. As for capacity, people are so missing the glaring issue. Capacity is only a problem because of the centralised nature of London. Ant focus should be on providing an even spread of jobs and money across the country, not trying to keep them in London and being able to get there faster. Decentralisation is what’s needed. And that does not mean moving things from London to self important Manchester, who quite frankly, acts like a spoiled brat. It means a spread across Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Nottingham, Newcastle etc. Capacity on the West Coast line would not then be an issue. Never going to happen though as London would never allow it. Guess we are stuck with scraps being given to the rest of the country with that city that shouts very loudly about how important it is, getting the token lions share.

By Anonymous

Waste of money. The North don’t want or need HS2 and all the safe guarding should be lifted

By Anonymous

What some contributors are missing is that HS2 releases huge amounts of capacity on the EXISTING network meaning many more LOCAL services and freight. The West Coast Main Line is pretty much at capacity now, never mind in 30 years. Unfortunately people have been susceptible to a constant drip drip of negative and highly misinformed coverage from London-based media outlets and politicians. And it’s worked. Because what we will end up with is yet another high speed commuter line to Birmingham and – yet again – few if any benefits for the north.

HS2 was certainly mismanaged but it should be remembered that costs have even driven by the government meddling, putting the line in expensive tunnels through the Chilterns for example rather than cuttings. But even then, costs are spread over 30 years and paid back via fair revenue. The project is eminently affordable especially when you consider all the other stuff government pays for that do not bring the permanent benefits that a major piece of infrastructure like HS2 would. I despair with this country sometimes.

By Anonymous

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