HS2 boss says only building line to Crewe ‘doesn’t do justice to the business case’
The boss of controversial rail project HS2 has said that only building the line to Crewe “doesn’t do justice to the business case” after doubts emerged over whether the proposed eastern route to Leeds would be built.
In a speech last month Andrew Stephenson, the new minister responsible for the project, made no mention of the so-called “phase 2b” of the project, the route of which is yet to be confirmed.
However, he did say that legislation for the extension of the line to Manchester would be brought forward “as soon as possible”.
Speaking to City PM, the project’s chief executive Mark Thurston confirmed that the government was “committed to the whole” of the planned line, saying that “intercity connectivity was a crucial part of what HS2 is about”.
He did confirm that phase 2b, which includes both the Crewe to Manchester and Birmingham to Leeds parts of the plan, was currently “on pause” while the government works out what the best option is for rail in the north.
In last week’s speech Stephenson announced an “integrated rail plan” would consider the HS2 route in conjunction with Northern Powerhouse Rail and other proposed upgrade.
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In response, lobby groups for the Northern Powerhouse had sought assurances that the project’s northern extensions would be built in full, including the Leeds branch.
Thurston was speaking at HS2’s new Old Oak Common station development in west London, which he said had the same development potential as London’s financial nerve centre Canary Wharf.
Trains will operate from the new “super-hub”, which will also be a stop on Crossrail’s Elizabeth line and see up to 250,000 passengers a day, before the HS2 terminal at Euston is completed between 2031 and 2036.
The site, which is expected to open between 2029 and 2033, will become a major new railway junction with connections to Heathrow and the City.
Thurston also said that it was important for a project of the scale of HS2 to have a “political figurehead” like Stephenson to advocate for the project, admitting that how the minister’s role would interact with HS2’s management would become clear in the coming months.
HS2’s management came in for severe criticism due to huge cost increases and delays from Prime Minister Boris Johnson even as the rail link was given the go-ahead, with Thurston admitting the new minister would help “hold them to account”.