17 October 2024, 07:40 | Updated: 17 October 2024, 08:54
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The troubled HS2 rail line will now run from London Euston to Crewe in a move soon to be announced by the Government, LBC understands.
According to sources close to the project, Ministers have re-evaluated the cost-benefit of HS2 and concluded the line should continue beyond Birmingham.
It would reverse a decision made by the then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at his party’s conference last year.
The route was originally scheduled to connect London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, but was scaled back by the previous Conservative government who scrapped ‘Phase 2’.
Phase 2a was to connect the West Midlands to Crewe, whilst ‘Phase 2b’ was from Crewe to Manchester.
LBC understands that Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to reverse the change to ‘Phase 2a’, as the route already has parliamentary approval – meaning the line will run from the capital beyond Birmingham to Crewe.
Insiders have told LBC that the Prime Minister held private discussions on the matter at last month’s Labour Party conference and that the government had been planning to make a formal announcement in the new year.
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Downing Street and the Department for Transport have been making the case to the Treasury about the need for the extra cash.
It is also understood that HS2 Ltd will not be overseeing Phase 2a, instead it will be handed to a private sector consortium.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “A decision to reverse changes to HS2 would only further derail the public finances, all for the sake of a massive white elephant that taxpayers simply can’t afford.
“The case for HS2 has long since been torn to shreds by uncontrollable costs, changes to rail usage and the much greater need for investment in alternative projects.
“If Labour want to fill the black hole in the budget they’d be better off pulling the plug on the whole scheme.”
The move comes as Louise Haigh hinted to LBC earlier this month that there may be further changes to HS2.
The Transport Secretary told Nick Ferrari “Euston was always going to be part of the picture for HS2″, suggesting that the project will terminate at London Euston as opposed to Old Oak Common in West London.
LBC understands that the government is preparing an imminent announcement regarding the high speed line running to Euston.
High Speed 2 was announced by the then-Labour government back in 2009 and was approved by the Conservative-led coalition government in 2012.
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Former Special Adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Transport, Andrew Gilligan, told LBC’s Nick Ferrari at Breakfast that the project was a “sinkhole of utterly incompetent management”.
He told Nick: “I just wonder where the money’s coming from. I mean, that’s probably another 20 billion they’ve just chucked down the drain. More perhaps. This thing is a sinkhole of utterly incompetent management. Lies, and waste on a planetary scale.”
However, the project has been widely criticised for delayed opening and construction, with the original Launch year 2026, it is now expected to carry its first passengers between 2029 and 2033.
Similarly, the program has soared in terms of cost estimates, with HS2 Ltd now projecting a cost of between £49bn and £56.6bn for Phase 1, with fears this could yet run higher.
The revelation comes as rail industry leaders told ministers earlier this month that building HS2 from London Euston to Crewe could save the government money by allowing them to lease the line out for much more.
The High Speed Rail Group estimated selling the rights to run the line could be worth up to £20bn.
Whilst a report commissioned by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and former West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, which was published last month suggested that by reducing speed you could deliver a new line for between 60% and 75% of the cost, which experts argue – along with private funding – would reduce the cost burden associated with the project.
Phase 2a from the Midlands to Crewe was estimated to cost around £3.72 billion at 2015 prices – around £5 billion today. If the report’s estimates are correct, that would imply a cost of up to £3.72 billion for the section.
A Department for Transport spokesperson told LBC: “Transport is an essential part of the Government’s mission to rebuild Britain and grow our economy. We are committed to improving rail connectivity across the North, working with local leaders to do so.”