HS2 lessons need to learned to avoid further infrastructure missteps
The debacle that is HS2 is a damning indictment of the country’s current approach to major infrastructure projects. While neighbouring countries have proven themselves to be more than capable of delivering high speed rail on time and on budget, HS2 has become a cruel joke.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told the Commons there is “no route” to meet the target date of having HS2 services running by 2033, compounding further disappointment for a line that promised so much.
HS2 now exists in all but name for those who live in the North. A once in a generation opportunity to connect the North and the rest of the country, add much needed capacity to the network and unleash the economic opportunities that come with connectivity has been squandered.
The Transport Secretary calls it “an appalling mess” and she’s not wrong. Ms Alexander added: “We need to set targets which we can confidently deliver, that the public can trust, and that will take time.” Trust has been completely eroded in a project that quite a few people had their reservations about from the start.
What the HS2 debacle shows is that a rethink is needed on infrastructure strategy. We cannot afford for projects to become a free-for-all. Projects which contractors end up treating as a cash cow. Public money ultimately ends up down a bottomless pit.
A commission needs to look at how so much money was wasted for so little return because lessons need to be learned.
There is no shortage of a need for further infrastructure development across the country, especially here in the North. Before a spade for Northern Powerhouse Rail goes into the ground, all the missteps of HS2 need to be weeded out and a new modus operandi put in place.