Transport
secretary
Louise
Haigh


has
criticised
the
Conservatives’
management
of
HS2,
in
the
wake
of
a
report
from
the
National
Audit
Office
which
warns
that
capacity
between
London
and
Manchester
will
be
reduced
rather
than
increased
because
the
trains
planned
for
HS2,
which
will
continue
north
of
Birmingham
on
the
conventional
network,
may
have
fewer
seats
than
the
Pendolinos
they
will
replace.

The
report
says
it
may
be
necessary
to
encourage
people
‘to
travel
at
different
times
or
to
not
travel
by
rail’,
although
it
concedes
‘this
may
constrain
economic
growth
in
the
region
over
the
long
term’.

One
alternative
would
be
longer
trains,
but
these
would
need
‘additional
works
at
existing
stations
such
as
at
Crewe
or
Preston’.

The
station
at
London
Euston
would
have
six
platforms
rather
than
ten,
because
there
will
be
fewer
high
speed
trains.

The
report
concludes
that
it
will
cost
£100
million
to
close
down
the
work
on
HS2
north
of
Birminghan,
which
was
cancelled
last
October,
and
urges
the
DfT
and
HS2
Ltd
to
‘reset
the
programme
successfully
to
avoid
repeating
past
failures’.
It
says
‘they
will
need
to
be
clear
on
what
benefits
they
want
from
the
programme
now.’

Transport
secretary
Louise
Haigh
says
in
a
tweet
on
X
that:
‘The
Tories
recklessly
mismanaged
HS2
and
allowed
the
costs
to
spiral
out
of
control.
This
report
lays
bare
the
sheer
scale
of
Conservative
incompetence.
We
won’t
make
the
same
mistakes.
We’re
assessing
the
books
and
will
set
out
next
steps
in
due
course.’

Meanwhile
the
charity
Campaign
for
Better
Transport
says
HS2
has
become
’a
complete
shambles’.

Silviya
Barrett
of
the
CBT
said:
‘At
a
time
when
we
need
to
encourage
more
people
to
take
the
train,
it
beggars
belief
that
the
public
might
be
discouraged
to
travel
with
even
higher
fares
and
fewer
seats.

‘The
severely
curtailed
HS2
project
has
now
turned
into
a
complete
shambles
that
needs
to
be
urgently
addressed.

‘For
the
sake
of
current
and
future
generations,
the
Government
must
consider
the
best
way
to
expand
rail
capacity
and
improve
connectivity
from
Manchester
to
central
London
as
originally
intended,
whether
high
speed
or
not.’