Attempts to get HS2 costs under control are to be welcomed - Yorkshire Post Letters
I am inspired that the Secretary of State for Transport and MP for Sheffield, Louise Haigh, is along with Transport Minister, Lord Hendy, attempting to bring the project cost of HS2 under control.
This sounds very familiar as when HS2 super fast rail link was first announced in 2012, David Cameron's government made the same pledge to control project cost!
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Hide AdI would have hoped that each of the Secretary of State for Transport over the last decade would have 'Ministerial' oversight of HS2, but it appears that this has not been the case as costs have spiralled out of control.


When did it start to go wrong? Sir David Higgins was appointed chairman of HS2 due to vast experience and professionalism and his industry track record of professionalism.
His tenure or leadership ran between these crucial years of 2014 to 2018.
I am surprised that managing director, Mark Thurston, who was in charge of HS2 between 2017 to 2023 had not been able to take cost under his control with his experience, gained whilst being in charge of London's Crossrail (which incidentally went over estimated cost by billions of pounds and delivery time).
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Hide AdThese large rail infrastructure projects are complicated, that's why ex Transport for London senior management staff under the leadership of Lord Peter Hendy have been taken on vast salaries three or four times more than the Prime Minister.
I can remember having a conversation with a previous Conservative Transport Minister between 2018-19, Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, who said all governments, doesn't matter which political parties or coalition including civil servants in the Department of Transport and Treasury, have a bad track record of financial management of large infrastructure projects.
What lessons will be learnt this time round?
We will see the outcomes in six months time.
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