The cancellation of the northern leg of HS2 has raised “urgent unanswered questions” and the government does not yet understand how the £67bn high-speed railway will now function, according to a scathing report from parliament’s spending watchdog.
Rishi Sunak announced the cancellation of the northern leg of the line to Manchester in October, promising to divert £36bn into alternative transport schemes known as Network North, including filling potholes.
The cross-party committee said many ramifications of the decision remained unknown, including the impact on other promised rail schemes and how land compulsorily bought to build north of Birmingham would be disposed of.
Meg Hillier, chair of the committee, said: “The decision to cancel HS2’s northern leg was a watershed moment that raises urgent and unanswered questions, laid out in our report.
Our plans for Euston have already received extensive support from the private sector … we have repeatedly made clear we will continue to deliver HS2 at the lowest reasonable cost, in a way that provides value for taxpayers.”
Work on the first phase of HS2 beyond Euston is continuing, with significant milestones including the start of construction of Birmingham’s new Curzon Street station and the main Chilterns tunnels almost excavated.
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The cancellation of the northern leg of HS2 has raised “urgent unanswered questions” and the government does not yet understand how the £67bn high-speed railway will now function, according to a scathing report from parliament’s spending watchdog.
Rishi Sunak announced the cancellation of the northern leg of the line to Manchester in October, promising to divert £36bn into alternative transport schemes known as Network North, including filling potholes.
The cross-party committee said many ramifications of the decision remained unknown, including the impact on other promised rail schemes and how land compulsorily bought to build north of Birmingham would be disposed of.
Meg Hillier, chair of the committee, said: “The decision to cancel HS2’s northern leg was a watershed moment that raises urgent and unanswered questions, laid out in our report.
Our plans for Euston have already received extensive support from the private sector … we have repeatedly made clear we will continue to deliver HS2 at the lowest reasonable cost, in a way that provides value for taxpayers.”
Work on the first phase of HS2 beyond Euston is continuing, with significant milestones including the start of construction of Birmingham’s new Curzon Street station and the main Chilterns tunnels almost excavated.
The original article contains 618 words, the summary contains 200 words. Saved 68%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!