A final decision on the route of Phase 2 of High Speed 2 will be made in the autumn, Transport Minister Robert Goodwill said in a Commons Written Reply to Helen Jones (Labour, Warrington North) on June 6.
Bearing in mind the previous assurances about the size of the contingency fund why are having a desperate review to cut cost? It seems to suggest that those running HS2 do not have a grip on the project. Bearing in mind the VAST amount of money involved we should stop until we know what is going on. HS2 are desperate to get started to avoid being stopped and that is exactly why we should stop all contracts etc. No independent bodies have examined the nature of HS2 and the options. The KPMG report was funded by HS2 and as such should be considered as a sales pitch rather than objective. If the Government can delay Heathrow runway, it can delay HS2!
Graham Nalty - 10/06/2016 08:37
If the Government is serious about improving the economies of our Midlands and Northern cities, then they should remove those discredited parkway stations from the HS2 route including Meadowhall. Toton and Crewe and bring HS2 trains into the city centre stations at Sheffield, Stoke, Derby and Nottingham. With stated Government support for devolution and the emergence of Midlands Connect and Transport for the North, decisions on station locations should be directed up from the cities and not down from a central government quango. It is well known that parkway stations lose two thirds of the potential HS2 new jobs compared to city centre stations. HS2 Ltd. should not be allowed to impose their inferior solutions one our secondary and tertiary cities.