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Speculation that the section of HS2 linking Leeds with the Midlands could be cancelled has been condemned by construction sector bosses.
Suggestions that the Leeds leg could be cut to reduce the overall cost have surfaced in the wake of the announcement in February of an Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) for the Midlands and the North. The government has yet to publish this, leading some to conclude that HS2 Phase 2b might be in doubt.
The doubts have prompted 60 industry figures to sign a joint letter from the High Speed Rail Group and the Railway Industry Association to the government urging it to stick with the original plan and end the doubts by publicly committing to every part of the project.
It spoke of “mounting alarm” at press speculation that the IRP “might in fact delay, curtail, mothball or even cancel entirely the delivery of the eastern leg of HS2”.
The letter acknowledged that the decision of Boris Johnson to review the project after first taking office was “understandable”, but said once the commitment had been made to go ahead, “changing that now would have a devastating impact on confidence in the sector and drive higher costs as other elements would have to be redesigned.”
Signatories of the letter include Aecom chief executive Colin Wood, Keltbray chief executive Darren James and Babcock Rail head of future business David Taylor.
Proceeding with the northern phase would provide thousands of jobs across Yorkshire, with scaffolders in Leeds among those to benefit.
They would be just some of the people working on the project if it goes through and the industry leaders used the letter to highlight the benefits in terms of jobs, apprenticeships and lives. They also noted that local government leaders across the Midlands and north are “near unanimous” in their support for HS2, regardless of their political affiliations.
HS2 revealed this week that the number of people working on the project has now reached 20,000, a figure the signatories of the letter said could rise to 34,000 if the Leeds leg goes ahead. The landmark employment figure comes a year after construction work was given the go-ahead.
Among the elements of the project where work is taking place now are the new stations at Old Oak Common in west London and Curzon Street in Birmingham. Tunnelling work is taking place under the Chilterns and Britain’s longest railway bridge is being built over the Colne Valley in Hertfordshire.
The blueprint for Leeds would not just see new track being laid on the approach to the city, but the building of a whole new station, just south of the city’s current rail hub.
According to HS2’s own site, the benefits will be extensive to Leeds. These will include freeing up the local network to provide better services to the West Yorkshire area and from the city to the east of England, as well as acting as a catalyst for development and investment in both the city as a whole and particularly in the ‘South Bank’ project to redevelop the area around Holbeck.
