HS2 on track

A draft report of the Oakervee Review into HS2 says the rail line should go ahead despite spiralling costs.

An early version of the full HS2 review, from Douglas Oakervee and commissioned by Boris Johnson to assess the continued viability of the project, recommends that the full high-speed line joining London to Leeds and Manchester be built.

The review into the controversial project suggests that cost savings could be made by reducing the number of trains per hour, from 18 to 14, rather than cutting back on the eastern leg of the second phase.

Recommendations from the draft report not only approve extending the line beyond Birmingham, but also agree the line should run fully into London – finishing at Euston rather than Old Oak Common as critics have suggested. While further stations, at Calvert in Buckinghamshire to connect with a new east-west line from Oxford to Cambridge, have also been approved in the review.

Addressing the spiralling costs – the project was initially costed at £33Bn and is now expected to cost more than its new price tag of £88Bn – the report suggests private developers could contribute to the construction of stations where housing, office and retail developments are expected.

While broadly endorsing the project, the report confirms that extra capacity is crucial for the country’s overworked current rail system. However concerns have been raised over the drop in economic benefit which is now estimated at £1.30:£1, down from £2.30:£1

Publication of the full review was due in the autumn but has been postponed until after the General Election for the new Transport Secretary to take forward. This summer saw a report published which showed the project was £30Bn over budget with completion of the second phase delayed at least seven years.

Officials from the Department for Transport said that no copy of the report had been received and any views were pure speculation.

The document will be welcomed by businesses in the north who have long campaigned for better transport links and in particular the benefits of HS2 for the north.

Henri Murison, director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said: “The Northern Powerhouse Independent Review on HS2 said that there were no identified credible alternatives to HS2 in order to deliver the same capacity, and that it has the potential to unlock greater growth in the North and Midlands.

“It is welcome that their recommendations are mirrored by the government’s own Oakervee Review.”

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