Construction
of
HS2
north
of
Birmingham
to
Crewe
is
to
be
delayed
by
two
years,


in
a
bid
to
contain
the
costs
of
the
project.

Transport
secretary
Mark
Harper
said
£40
billion
will
be
invested
in
‘transformational’
transport
schemes
over
the
next
two
financial
years
around
the
country,
which
would
help
to
‘level
up’
local
communities
and
fulfill
one
of
the
Government’s
five
priorities
to
enlarge
the
economy.

He
added
that
this
includes
continued
investment
in
HS2
from
London
Euston
to
Manchester.
However,
‘in
recognition
of
inflationary
pressures
and
to
help
balance
the
nation’s
books,
the
next
two
years
will
be
used
to
rephase
construction
and
optimise
future
delivery
of
Phase
2a
between
Birmingham
and
Crewe
so
this
is
done
in
the
most
cost-effective
way’.

He
continued:
‘The
Government
will
take
the
time
to
ensure
an
affordable
and
deliverable
design
at
Euston,
with
a
view
to
delivering
the
station
alongside
high-speed
infrastructure
to
Manchester,
while
the
High
Speed
Rail
(Crewe-Manchester)
Bill
continues
through
Parliament.’

Before
Mr
Harper
made
his
announcement,
there
had
been
speculation
that
he
could
have
been
set
to
announce
changes
to
Phase
1,
between
Old
Oak
Common
and
Birmingham,
but
construction
on
this
section
will
continue.

Transport
for
the
North
reacted
by
calling
for
the
complete
London
to
Manchester
scheme
to
go
ahead.
Its
chairman,
the
former
transport
secretary
Lord
McLoughlin,
said:
‘This
is
a
disappointing
announcement.
But
I
was
reassured
by
the
transport
secretary
that
we
are
still
getting
HS2
to
Manchester,
and
the
recommitment
to
NPR
[Northern
Powerhouse
Rail]
is
welcome.

‘However,
it
needs
to
be
understood
whether
or
not
these
cost
savings
can
be
realised
while
still
achieving
the
same
desired
outcome
and
conditional
outputs.
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.’

The
Railway
Industry
Association,
which
represents
hundreds
of
companies
in
the
supply
chain,
warned
that
delaying 
the
Birmingham-Crewe
section
could
be
an
‘inefficient
use
of
taxpayers’
money.’

RIA
chief
executive
Darren
Caplan
said:
‘Chancellor
Jeremy
Hunt
announced
just
last
November
that
he
was
committed
to
delivering
HS2.
This
was
welcome
news
following
the
scrapping
of
both
the
Eastern
Leg
from
Leeds
to
Birmingham,
and
the
cancellation
of
the
Golborne
Link,
to
enable
high
speed
trains
to
get
from
the
Northern
Leg
of
HS2
to
Scotland.

‘So
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.’

The
Labour
Party
was
also
critical.
Shadow
transport
secretary
Louise
Haigh
said:
‘Tens
of
thousands
of
jobs,
and
billions
in
economic
growth
are
dependent
on
this
project.
The
North
is
yet
again
being
asked
to
pay
the
price
for
staggering
Conservative
failure.
Conservative
chaos
and
chronic
indecision
is
holding
back
jobs,
growth
and
costing
the
taxpayer.
This
is
the
biggest
project
in
Europe
and
delays
pile
costs
up
in
the
long-run.
Ministers
now
need
to
come
clean
on
precisely
how
much
their
indecision
will
cost
taxpayers
and
the
North.’

The
private
operators’
lobbying
organisation
Rail
Partners
echoed
the
cost
concerns
voiced
by
other
critics.
Chief
executive
Andy
Bagnall
said:
‘While
inflationary
pressures
make
infrastructure
projects
more
challenging,
it
is
critical
for
Britain’s
economy
and
meeting
net
zero
targets
that
large
sections
of
HS2
are
not
delayed
which
will
ultimately
increase
the
overall
cost.’