HS2 needs greater transparency to get back on track: The Yorkshire Post says

The picture it paints is one of management which has sought to downplay, or obscure, the extent of the problems that HS2 faces.

This is an unacceptable state of affairs, made especially more so given the importance of high-speed rail to our region’s future.

And for that reason, the committee’s report is to be welcomed.

It brings these fundamental problems out into the open, which means they can be addressed, the failings targeted and the project put back on course.

The Government has already pledged to give six-monthly updates to Parliament about the progress of HS2, and against the backdrop of this report that must mean there can be nothing other than complete transparency.

It cannot be reiterated too often how important HS2 is to Yorkshire and the wider north, opening up vital capacity on the existing rail network and unlocking vast new economic potential for growth and jobs.

Those gains have assumed even greater importance against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, which will inevitably cause huge economic damage.

HS2 will be a key component in the long-term recovery from that, and as such the project and jobs it will create is required more than ever.

That is why it needs to be completed on time and on budget.

The stinging report into failings so far now makes that more likely to happen.

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

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Sincerely. Thank you.

James Mitchinson

Editor