Delivering and future-proofing HS2’s low carbon legacy is complex, but that doesn’t mean the supply chain shouldn’t grab the opportunity, says AECOM’s director of sustainable development Robert Spencer. When the world’s inter-city first steam rail line opened in 1830, running between Liverpool and Manchester, it was welcomed by huge 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…)
The High Speed Rail Group welcome today’s announcement that the Government has issued the formal “Notice to Proceed” (NTP) to allow the construction of HS2 to commence. Following the news, an army of women and men will now set about the task of building Britain’s new north-south railway line with Read more…
No major project has ever been subjected to as much scrutiny as HS2, and this is right and proper given the public money being spent. But having had leading experts analyse HS2 for the last six months, the Government has rightly concluded that going ahead with the project is essential for their vision of ‘levelling up’ Britain and delivering a transformation of regional economies across the country.
With the decision taken, the industry’s focus must now be on delivering every penny of that public investment as efficiently as possible and wringing every benefit from the project. Now the debate on whether to build HS2 has been resolved, we can focus on (more…)
High Speed Rail Group welcomed over thirty apprentices to Eiffage Kier in Birmingham for the launch of a new Apprentice Network. Isabel Coman, Director at High Speed Rail Group, said: “ we are delighted to have launched this new Apprentice Network, which will provide apprentices working on the HS2 project with Read 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…
Lord Berkley’s intervention is once again way off the mark. Possible alternatives to building HS2 have been tested and rejected countless times. Passengers would not thank any of us for the years of disruption and weekend closures these projects would cause, and at the end of the painful process, we Read more…
Following the leaking of the Oakervee Review into HS2 to the Financial Times newspaper, we welcome its conclusions and published a letter to the Prime Minister urging him to “get HS2 done” and make an immediate decision to proceed with the project in line with the findings of the government-commissioned Read more…
2019 was a critical one for HS2. There has been increased scrutiny of the project, culminating in the Government’s announcement of the Oakervee Review at the end of August, which dominated our end of year activity. Here we set out a year view of the variety of activities we have Read more…
HS2 Phase 2a’s inclusion in the Queen’s Speech is good news, and shows that we can make progress on getting HS2’s benefits to the North and smashing the north-south divide. We must now press on, get HS2 built and bring the connectivity, capacity and jobs that benefit the country. Our Read more…