Prime Minister announces HS2 to go ahead

The Prime Minister has announced today that the High Speed Rail 2 (HS2) project will proceed despite the exponential increases in both cost and delivery time.

Following a statement made today in the House Commons, the Prime Minister declared that HS2, the largest rail project in the country, would go ahead but acknowledged the controversy and hindrances that had been experienced along the way.

Boris Johnson stated: “It has been a controversial and difficult decision. I cannot say that HS2 limited has distinguished itself in the handling of local communities. The cost forecasts have exploded, but poor management to date has not detracted from the fundamental value of the project.

“We will, in line with the review, investigate the current costs to identify where savings can be made in phase one without a total redesign.”

The predicted cost of delivering HS2 has increased by 20 per cent from the previous estimate, which stated between £81Bn and £88Bn, to over £106Bn, with completion of the first section being originally predicted for 2026 and the deadline now having been pushed back to 2031.

The Chief Operating Officer of the Morson Group, Adrian Adair commented: “The recruitment industry has been poised and ready to help attract, train, and deploy the thousands of technical skillsets needed to deliver HS2, and the green light from the Prime Minister has finally given us the confidence and reassurance that the infrastructure project will become a reality.

“As well as being dubbed as a catalyst for growth by transforming connectivity and capacity between the North and South, HS2 provides the perfect platform to develop a highly-skilled workforce across numerous technical sectors…

“Today’s primary school children are HS2’s future train drivers and engineers. It is also significant that we make apprenticeships the norm, whilst changing people’s perceptions of rail, to make this sector aspirational to all.

“What is clear is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. But what is certain is that solving the UK’s skills problem should be top of the supply chain’s agenda to unleash HS2’s true potential in building a healthy and resilient UK economy.”

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