Does Britain care more about bats than people? December 19, 2024 For each animal saved by the £100m the government spent on a ‘bat tunnel’ for HS2 we could have stopped 76 children dying of malaria. The affair illustrates the state’s total inability to consider trade-offs, says Samuel Hughes Last month saw much discussion of the £100m ‘bat tunnel’ built for HS2. There are several morals [...]
Labour’s growth gamble will decide Britain’s future December 18, 2024 Labour’s plan to invest for growth is Keynesianism 101. Delivering on it will require discipline and competence — recent history gives us plenty of reasons to be sceptical, says Damian Pudner Britain’s economic fortunes have hit a moment of reckoning. Public debt has ballooned to an eye-watering £2.8 trillion, roughly 100 per cent of GDP. [...]
HS2 chair to step down as cost swells to £66bn December 17, 2024 The chair of the company behind High Speed Two (HS2) is to stop down next year, it has been announced. Sir Jon Thompson has served on the board of HS2 Ltd for almost four years after first joining as a non-executive director in April 2021. He was appointed as the company’s chair in February 2023 [...]
HS2: Rail minister reveals new plans for Euston terminus December 11, 2024 Lord Peter Hendy, the rail minister, appeared in front of the Commons' transport committee on Wednesday alongside senior officials from the DfT.
HS2: Costs for London Euston section reach over £7.5bn December 10, 2024 Rachel Reeves confirmed in the Autumn Budget HS2 will terminate at Euston station, following a political kerfuffle over how to find the necessary funding.
Costain wins major HS2 contract December 4, 2024 The deal will see Costain supply tunnel and lineside mechanical and electrical system over a seven-year period.
Will Labour’s planning bill actually get Britain building again? November 19, 2024 The UK's planning system is in need of a radical overhaul. Will Labour's Planning and Infrastructure bill deliver? Sam Richards takes a look.
Autumn Budget 2024: Major HS2 and train route updates unveiled October 30, 2024 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has revealed in her first Budget that the Transpennine upgrade to connect York, Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester will be secured under the new Labour government. Reeves said the money would deliver “fully electric local and regional services between Manchester and Stalybridge by the end of this year, with a further electrification of [...]
Ministers to oversee HS2 amid warnings of ‘dire delivery failure’ October 20, 2024 Ministers will oversee work on HS2, the government has announced, as the transport secretary warned costs had spiralled out of control. Louise Haigh has announced urgent action to bring the cost and delivery of the high speed route from London to Birmingham back under control. It comes as the Sunday Times revealed leaked documents marked [...]
Transport officials plot PFI-style deal to fund HS2 Euston station October 20, 2024 Government officials are reportedly planning to raise at least £3bn from private sector investors to help fund the new HS2 station at Euston and renovate the neighbouring mainline terminus.