The High Speed Rail Group has dispatched an open letter calling on the Prime Minister to prioritise connectivity for UK regions. The letter marks the one year anniversary of the Prime Minister committing to proceed with HS2, and comes the day after Royal Assent was formally granted for HS2 Phase 2a. Read more…
Today marks a significant milestone in the life of the HS2 project, as it becomes ever more a truly North – South railway. The legislation needed for the next phase of the high speed line has now passed through both Houses of Parliament and achieved Royal Assent, paving the way Read more…
The High Speed Rail Group has responded to the Transport Committee’s call for evidence on major transport infrastructure projects: appraisal and delivery. The submission focuses on the high speed rail sector in the areas as outlined by the Committee. The key points of our submission are: HS2 will provide a Read more…
The next in our online In Conversation With… event featured Scotland Office Minister, Iain Stewart MP, Alastair Young, Transport Scotland and Jim Steer, HSRG Director. This 1-1 interview and audience Q&A was chaired by columnist and broadcaster Ayesha Hazarika – and provided a timely opportunity to discuss Anglo-Scottish high speed Read more…
HS2 has revealed the first images of one of HS2’s largest construction sites in the Midlands, which is being prepared for the launch of a tunnel boring machine (TBM) that will dig under Long Itchington Wood, creating a one mile twin bore tunnel, before the route heads North and swings Read more…
Responding to the announcement that HS2 is set to commence full construction, High Speed Rail Group (HSRG) commented: “HS2 is the most significant infrastructure project in a generation and will be a flagship programme as the nation seeks to build back better from Covid-19. “Industry will redouble our efforts to Read more…
We have submitted a response to the BEIS Committee call for evidence on post-pandemic economic growth. The response focuses on the rail sector in the areas as outlined by the Committee and highlights the role a national high speed rail network, including HS2, could play in the country’s recovery and Read more…
The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee recently launched the ‘My BEIS Inquiry’, inviting stakeholders and the wider public to come forward with suggestions for issues the Committee should investigate over the course of this Parliament. The BEIS Committee is open to looking at issues from across the policy remit Read more…
Although the Coronavirus crisis has been dominating the headlines, environmental challenges have not gone away. The warm weather that is lifting spirits is also leading scientists to predict that 2020 will be the hottest year on record. Indeed, after the lockdown had already started, the DfT launched a radical consultation to inform its Transport Decarbonisation Plan (TDP). Calling for less car use and making public transport the first choice for daily travel, it represents a huge change from decades of previous policy.
It is important for HS2 now to rise to this opportunity. In her most recent report, Sadie Morgan, the chair of HS2’s independent design panel, called for more evidence and communication on how net zero is driving HS2 Ltd’s decision-making, calling for action from board level to those working on site. Professor Morgan also sits on the National Infrastructure Commission, which is undertaking a Rail Needs Assessment for the Midlands and the North. Clearly making the carbon case will be important for securing approval for Phase 2b and beyond.
The big challenge here is (more…)
‘Get HS2 Done’ by our High Speed Rail Group Director Jim Steer, published by the Yorkshire Post, sets out why proceeding with just the northern part of the HS2 project is not an option. The article points out the need to understand a key aspect of HS2: that it is Read more…