By lyndamyer
According to the lecture of UK prime minister Rishi Sunak at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, that said the government would invest every penny of the £36bn saving in hundreds of new transport projects in the north, the Midlands and across the country, following weeks of speculation he has confirmed that he is scrapping the Manchester leg of HS2.
Additionally, providing a faster service and more capacity HS2 trains would still run to Manchester.
Sunak also said: “The HS2 line to Euston would go ahead but responsibility had to be taken for failings on the site. HS2 Ltd is to lose responsibility for the site and a new Euston development organization will take over.”
Sunak’s announcement built on the theme of change running through his speech.
“To create change and drive growth we have to get our infrastructure right. HS2 was the ultimate example of the old consensus that transport infrastructure should connect conurbations, connect to London, and connect north to south, rather than east to west. The economic case [for HS2] weakened post-Covid; the facts have changed and the right thing to do is change direction,” he said.
Also as Sunak stated, under a new banner of Network North the savings from HS2 would include investment in a better rail connection between Manchester and Liverpool, expanding the West Midlands metro, upgrading motorways and A road, resurfacing roads, and improving links between Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Sunak also added: “In cancelling the Manchester leg of HS2 he might be criticized for a lack of ambition, but there’s nothing ambitious about pouring money into the wrong project.”
