Reacting to the announcement that the Birmingham-Manchester HS2
high-speed rail line would be cancelled, , Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said:
"Stop-start approaches on large and complex infrastructure
projects plainly do not represent value for money for the
taxpayer. And this approach undermines wider confidence that
government programmes for major infrastructure investment will be
delivered. In a globally competitive world companies may now
choose to invest their time and skills in other countries.
"The original plans for HS2 were calculated on the basis of the
line extending beyond Birmingham - both the cost to the taxpayer
of construction, and the boost to local economic development.
"As a Committee we have been raising concerns about HS2 for a
full decade, so this latest change is little surprise. It has
been confirmed that HS2 will run to London Euston, but it was
only in July that we warned that Government does not know what it
is trying to achieve with the planned new station there, and we
had raised concerns about the considerable cost of the two-year
pause which had been presented by Government as a money-saving
move.
"Our HS2 Euston report highlighted that the costs of such major
course-changes are not that simple. We will continue to closely
scrutinise the delivery of HS2, and it is likely we will be
examining the costs of this latest decision in the months to
come."
Notes to Editors:
The PAC is currently accepting evidence for its HS2 Euston: Recall
inquiry. An evidence session will be held on Thursday
23rd November 2023 – more details here.
Past PAC inquiries into HS2:
