, Labour’s Shadow Transport
Secretary, responding to the written ministerial
statement on the HS2 project which is 7 years late and £20bn over
budget, said:
“Successive Conservative Transport Ministers have shown
themselves to be utterly incompetent and unable to oversee the
finances and governance of HS2, among other infrastructure
projects.
“This government has misled both Parliament and the public about
the cost of HS2. People need to have confidence in the
project, so this delay is bad news for the UK transport
system as a whole and the north of England in particular.
“Labour will bring our railways into public ownership so
they are run in the interests of passengers, not for private
profit, to deliver significantly improved services and affordable
fares.”
Ends
Note to editors:
-
· HS2
Update: Written statement - HCWS1809:
“Chairman of HS2 does not believe that the current scheme
design can be delivered within the budget of £55.7 billion, set
in 2015 prices. Instead he estimates that the current scheme
requires a total budget - including contingency - in the range of
£72 to £78 billion, again in 2015 prices.”
“Chairman does not believe the current schedule of 2026 for
initial services on Phase One is realistic. In line with lessons
from other major transport infrastructure projects, his advice
proposes a range of dates for the start of service. He recommends
2028 to 2031 for Phase One…”
Source: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-09-03/HCWS1809/
