UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has revealed that he is canceling the HS2 segment from Birmingham to Manchester after weeks of speculations.
The Prime Minister announced intentions to use the money saved on other transportation projects while defending the cancellation of the northern phase of HS2 during his speech at the Tory party conference in Manchester today (October 4, 2023).
He said “I am ending this long-running saga. I am cancelling the rest of the HS2 project and in its place, we will reinvest every single penny, £36bn, in hundreds of new transport projects in the North and the Midlands, across the country.”
These new projects are set to include ‘Network North’, to join up northern cities by rail, and a ‘Midlands Rail Hub’, to connect 50 different stations. The £2 bus fare cap is also set to remain in place across the country.
The change was attributed to the spiraling price of HS2, with Sunak saying that the cost had now doubled and that changes to business travel had massively changed since the COVID pandemic.
In a statement, the government echoed that “the redirected funding will deliver the vital transport links that people want and need… connecting our great towns and cities while delivering real change to benefit the country and future generations.”
The decision, however, has been met with instant backlash.
West Yorkshire Mayor and Labour politician, Tracy Brabin, said the scrapping is ‘yet another betrayal of the North which will punish passengers and businesses alike’.
“We have always said that what was needed in terms of transport infrastructure was smaller local transport projects that benefit far more people and can be delivered far more quickly and for far less money,” said Joe Rukin, founder of Stop HS2. The only issue is how much money was squandered on the most expensive train disaster in history.”
Penny Gaines, chair of Stop HS2, said: “Following on from on the pause of the route into Euston and the cancellation of the unviable eastern leg of HS2, what is now happening to HS2 is death by a thousand cuts; it’s time the government put this white elephant out of its misery and cancel HS2 in full.”
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