FRC chief Jon Thompson to leave audit watchdog to lead HS2 project February 9, 2023 The head of the UK’s audit watchdog, Jon Thompson, is set to step down to take up a new position as the chair of HS2. Thompson has handed in his notice to leave his job as head of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and will now serve out his six-month notice period, Sky News first [...]
Hunt: ‘No conceivable circumstances’ where HS2 does NOT reach Euston – as £1bn spend on its station is breached January 27, 2023 HS2 Ltd’s work at Euston started six years ago with more than £1 billion already spent, as chancellor Jeremy Hunt said it’s not “conceivable” it won’t reach London. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said he did not see “any conceivable circumstances” in which HS2 would not run to its planned central London terminus at Euston, amid reports [...]
HS2: Delayed AGAIN or scrapped for good? Govt refuses to say if expensive project will ever terminate at London Euston January 27, 2023 The Government has refused to confirm that HS2 will reach its central London terminus at Euston following reports that it may be delayed or scrapped. The Sun said soaring inflation means that the high speed rail project may not run to Euston until 2038 – or be scrapped completely, with trains instead stopping at a [...]
From strikes to Avanti West Coast: Here the top five things to look out for in rail next year December 28, 2022 Railway has taken centre stage in the UK public discourse as the tug of war between unions and train operators over the past six months has led to unthinkable misery to millions of people and businesses. Rail minister Huw Merriman said last month the walkouts had cost the UK economy £500m, while hospitality and retail [...]
Architectural feat: Latest HS2 Euston station designs unveiled November 30, 2022 The latest designs for the new HS2 Euston station have finally been unveiled to the delight of many architecture enthusiasts. The new designs will be subjected to feedback from the local communities. Due to be completed between 2031 and 2036, the £2.6bn station will expand across three levels, with a 300 metre-long concourse – the [...]
HS2: ‘Very unlikely’ to meet budget for first phase October 16, 2022 The total cost of HS2’s London-Birmingham section is set to exceed the government’s budget by several billions, according to a leaked report. A research presented to the HS2 board by Sir Jon Thompson, the project’s deputy chair, said it was “very unlikely” the £40.3bn target would be met. The document concluded that the government’s contingency [...]
Half of Brits in favour of scrapping HS2 July 9, 2022 Half of Britons are in favour of scrapping the HS2 project as costs continue to mount. Around 52 per cent of those who voted Conservatives in the 2019 election are against the project, compared with 17 per cent who think the high-speed rail from London to the Midlands should go ahead, the Telegraph first reported. [...]
Work starts on unique HS2 tunnel that will blend railway into local landscape in first of its kind in UK June 11, 2022 HS2 said today work has begun on the construction of an innovative green tunnel designed to blend the railway into the landscape. The one-and-a-half-mile-long structure in Chipping Warden, Northamptonshire, is being built on the surface of the ground to speed up the process. More than 5,000 concrete segments made in a factory in Derbyshire will [...]
Rail stakeholders drag government for axing £3bn HS2-West Coast link June 7, 2022 Rail stakeholders have dragged the government for its decision to axe a £3bn link between HS2 and the West Coast Main Line. According to a joint statement published today by the Railway Industry Association (RIA), High Speed Rail Group and Rail Freight Group, scrapping the link will create a bottleneck north of Crewe. The link [...]
Grant Shapps gave private ‘assurance’ to top Tory about scrapping of £3bn HS2 branch from bill April 7, 2022 A proposed £3bn branch of HS2 linking Crew and Manchester with the west coast may be scrapped, the transport secretary reportedly told a senior Tory MP. The government insists no decisions have been made about the Golborne Link element of the project, despite claims Grant Shapps privately promised the chair of the 1922 committee, Sir [...]