Any start on high-speed rail in the North still 'several years away', Government adviser warns

Any significant start on work on HS2 in the North is still several years away, the Chairman of the National Infrastructure Committee has warned.

Appearing before the Commons Transport Select Committee on Friday, Sir John Armitt was asked by MPs whether it was possible to build both HS2 and Northern Powerhouse rail at the same time, after the Prime Minister earlier this year said it was not a case of choosing between the two schemes.

Sir John said: “Clearly you won't do them all necessarily completely at the same time, the programs will be driven, in the first place, or the opportunity to start will be driven in the first place, by detailed plans and then seeking planning consents to take schemes forward and HS2 itself, of course, is ahead of the game in that respect.”

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He said: “Whereas if you take Northern Powerhouse Rail they have yet to obtain the money from Government to do a detailed analysis of what their scope of work would be for their different schemes.

Artist's impression of HS2. Photo: PAArtist's impression of HS2. Photo: PA
Artist's impression of HS2. Photo: PA

“So,at the end of the day quite how the sequencing will work out and how that relates to the capacity of the industry is uncertain.”

He added: “We’re probably several years away from any significant starts on the work in the North.”

But when asked whether projects which had not yet been started could be delayed or cancelled due to the impact of coronavirus on the economy, he said: “This is a political choice, quite frankly, I mean Government to local authorities at the end of the day could say to their two companies, we don't wish you to proceed at a certain pace on those projects, that will carry a cost and they may then wish to say to others we wish you to accelerate or we wish you to try and bring your projects forward in order to create more local activity.”

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He said: “Yes, the Government at the end of the day could step in and say to Network Rail ‘well we'd like you to take preference for this one rather than that one’. But those, as I say those in a sense, leadership political judgments which need to be made by ministers.”

HS2 Ltd chief executive Mark Thurston told the committee it was too early to know how the project will be affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

He said: “We were doing work when the pandemic really kicked in and we’ve continued to work through the last few weeks. Notice to proceed was a big decision for us.

“But it’s too early for us to really understand what the full impact will be.”

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Sir John also said that if Government wants work to get going on projects such as Northern Powerhouse Rail, it needed to move past the preparatory work first.

Asked what “proactive steps” the Government could take to ensure all different projects were delivered he said: “Northern Powerhouse Rail hasn’t been approved yet, Northern Powerhouse Rail hasn't even been designed in any sort of detail yet.

“Northern Powerhouse Rail have asked Government for £25m to actually get on with working up the outline schemes that they want to do.

“So those are the sort of things which clearly Government can do to get things moving.

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“Because in the first place, it's not about digging holes. It's actually about doing lots of environmental work assessments, design, consultations, whole land acquisition, I mean, there's several years of work which will take place on NPR before you can actually start digging holes.”

Sir John also admitted HS2’s business case is “tricky” but he said there was a limit to how much existing rail lines can be improved.

He said: “There is a limit to how long we can put sellotape and sticky stuff on a railway which was originally laid down nearly 200 years ago, and occasionally you have to build new.”

He went on: “The business case is always a tricky one. Economists will always come to different views.

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“We’re talking about a project which is going to be beneficial to the country for the next 75 years at least, and therefore forecasting how those long-term socio-economic benefits are going to play out is a challenge for anyone.

“I think to a certain extent, occasionally you have to say ‘this looks a sensible thing to do so let’s go ahead’.

Last week ministers gave the official go ahead for construction on HS2 to begin.

HS2 Ltd, the Government-owned company developing the high-speed railway, issued a notice to proceed to firms contracted to design and construct bridges, tunnels, embankments and viaducts for phase one between London and Birmingham.

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave the green light for HS2 in February, despite the plans running tens of billions of pounds over budget and several years behind schedule.

The Government-commissioned Oakervee Review warned that the final bill could reach £106bn at 2019 prices.