'HS2 is still the right thing to do...'

摘要

February and April 2020 were crucial months for HS2 - and not just because on February 11 the Prime Minister confirmed in Parliament that HS2 should go ahead, nor that on April 15 the Government followed up with the formal 'Notice to Proceed' to the project. Of equal importance to HS2 was that February was the month that COVID-19 leapt to prominence, while April was the first full month of the national lockdown ordered by Government to try to bring the virus under control. HS2 couldn't have been further from the headlines at the time, but I do remember thinking that the project was now absolutely secure and out of danger in general. After all, with normal life and the national economy literally crashing and burning around us, it struck me that no Government of any political persuasion would do anything to threaten Europe's biggest civil engineering project. To date, £10 billion has been let in contracts with a further £10bn in the pipeline. Thus far, £lbn has been spent on enabling works to prepare for the start of construction proper, in spring 2021. Total spend to date is £8bn, with more than £2bn spent on buying 1,274 properties and key sites, such as Euston. HS2 Ltd now owns 35% of the land needed to build the first phase.