(BUTTON) More

   HS2
   This article is more than 4 years old

HS2 to be completed as far as Crewe by 2027 under revised plans

   This article is more than 4 years old

   Government confirms plan to extend first phase of £55.7bn high-speed
   rail project to increase the benefit to the north

--
   [ ] Crewe station Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Observer

   HS2 will be built as far as Crewe by 2027, the government has
   confirmed, to increase the benefit to the north six years before the
   full £55.7bn high-speed rail network is completed.

   A government paper published on Monday endorsed revised plans drawn up
   by David Higgins, the chairman of HS2, to continue building to take in
   a major new rail hub at Crewe in the first phase of construction, which
   will cut 45 minutes off the journey to London.
--
   own property on the new stretch of route between Birmingham and Crewe.

HS2: the human cost of Britain’s most expensive ever rail project | Patrick
Barkham

--
   former CBI boss, will be installed on Monday.

   Osborne said: “Bringing forward this part of the HS2 route by six years
   is a massive step in the right direction for the northern powerhouse,
   where high-speed rail will play a big role in connecting up the entire
   region with the rest of the country.

--
   Read more

   The transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, said HS2 would bring
   additional rail capacity to cities across the north-west and in
   Scotland, helping support growth and jobs. He added: “Bringing HS2 to
   Crewe ahead of time is a tremendous opportunity for the north to feel
   the benefits even sooner.

   “We continue to make good progress on our plans for the rest of HS2
   phase two serving Manchester, east Midlands, South Yorkshire and Leeds
   and will make a decision on the route in autumn 2016.”

   Higgins said the decision to accelerate the second phase of work was a
   “significant milestone” in the development of HS2, and said a
   “gratifying consensus” was growing in cities along the northern route
   over where new stations should be built.

   But the cost of HS2 – revised up by another £5bn on Wednesday to
   £55.7bn, at 2015 prices – has provoked more controversy in a week when
   the chancellor was slashing welfare and other departmental budgets.

   Ministers have admitted that 46 staff working at HS2 Ltd earn more than
   the prime minister – even though no spades have yet gone in the ground
   and royal assent has not been granted for the project.
   Topics
     * HS2

     * Rail transport
--
       (BUTTON) Close

   [p?c1=2&c2=6035250&cv=2.0&cj=1&comscorekw=HS2%2CUK+news%2CRail+transpor
   t%2CTransport%2CGeorge+Osborne%2CPolitics]