Angry reactions as PM Sunak pulls the plug on HS2

On October 3, Avanti West Coast 390126 waits at London Euston to head the 1830 to Glasgow Central. HS2 is still due to reach the London terminus but will no longer run north of Birmingham.

PRIME Minister Rishi Sunak cancelled all High Speed 2 projects beyond Birmingham on October 4, and pledged to spend the money saved on local transport projects - including an £8.3 billion fund for repairing potholes on Britain’s roads.

He and his ministers had spent the days before his speech to the Conservative Party’s annual conference ducking questions about HS2’s future, insisting that they had made no decisions.

But when Sunak’s announcement finally came, it was quickly followed by a Department for Transport White Paper that listed alternative spending options, many of which are already under way, including a slew of bypasses and other road schemes.

Read this article in full in RAIL Issue 994 here

To instantly read all of our articles, choose from either a Digital subscription from just 99p for your first month, or a Print & Digital subscription from just £9.50 per month. Choose your subscription here.