High Speed Rail (Preparation) Act 2013, Annual Expenditure Report for 2016-17

The High Speed Rail (Preparation) Act annual expenditure report has been published under Section 2 of the High Speed Rail (Preparation) Act 2013. The report covers the period from 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017.

The High Speed Rail (Preparation) Act 2013 allows for expenditure to be incurred in preparation for a high speed railway transport network. The Act ensures that the development of the proposed railway may proceed without any delay, which is critical to HS2 Limited (HS2 Ltd) and the Department for Transport (DfT) delivering High Speed 2 on time and on budget.

This financial report has been prepared in accordance with section 2 of the High Speed Rail (Preparation) Act. It covers the period from 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017, and sets out the expenditure incurred on pre-construction activity and the related cost categories which this expenditure is attributable to. HS2 Ltd and DfT achieved a major milestone on 23 February 2017 when, after three years of intense parliamentary scrutiny, the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill (Phase One hybrid Bill) was awarded Royal Assent.

Significant progress has been made in developing the civil engineering and railway systems design specifications, carrying out surveys and ground investigations, and proceeding with the acquisition of critical path properties while providing compensation for property that is likely to be affected. All these preparatory works are crucial to fulfilling the Government’s commitment to have the necessary infrastructure in place to enable economic growth for this country in the future and transport is key to achieving this.

The preparations for Phase 2a (West Midlands to Crewe) continue to progress with the hybrid Bill deposited with Parliament in July 2017. On 15 November 2016, the government announced the preferred route for the majority of the remainder of the Phase Two route, known as Phase 2b. Following this announcement, HS2 Ltd undertook a consultation on a number of elements of this route – holding 30 events and meeting with over 20,000 members of the public along the length of the Phase 2b route. The results of these consultation events informed Government’s decision on the Phase 2b route in summer 2017.

A copy of the full report can be found here.

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