On 11 February, prime minister Boris Johnson confirmed that Phase 1 of the High Speed 2 (HS2) rail project, linking London with Birmingham, will proceed as planned, with construction beginning in April. Phase 2a, linking the West Midlands with Crewe,will also be revived, with preparation works moving forward in the near future. The announcement was made on the same day as Douglas Oakervee's independent review of HS2 was published in full.The prime minister also voiced his support for Phase 2b of the project, linking Crewe with Manchester and Birmingham with Leeds, but admitted that further assessment will be conducted by the National Infrastructure Commission to see where efforts could be integrated with Northern Powerhouse Rail, a proposed high-speed line connecting Liverpool, Hull and Newcastle via Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds. Referring to the spiralling costs of the project to date, Johnson said he is "drawing a clear line underthe mismanagement of the past" and insisted that future phases "must be delivered more efficiently and cost-effectively so that communities feel its benefits more quickly, particularly those in the north".
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