TSSA presses government over future of HS2 Eastern leg

TSSA General Secretary, Manuel Cortes, has written to the Government seeking assurances over the future of the Eastern leg of the High Speed 2 (HS2) rail project.

Cortes wrote to Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, following media reports suggesting the Phase 2 Eastern leg of the route – from Birmingham to Nottingham, Sheffield and Leeds – is to be scrapped or stopped by the Department for Transport (DfT).

In the correspondence, Manuel Cortes describes such a suggestion as "extremely concerning" and something that raises "important and pressing questions".

Manuel Cortes asks Shapps – 

• Is it the case that the Eastern leg is being scrapped, paused or mothballed?
• Have Ministers or officials at the DfT ordered a halt to planning work on the Eastern leg?
• Is it true the Government is now "only focussed" on the route to Manchester, as suggested recently to MPs by HS2 chief executive, Mark Thurston.
• Does the future of HS2 remain as one integrated project – carrying out work across the proposed routes to the currently proposed timetable?

Manuel Cortes goes on to point out that "HS2 is absolutely vital for our country" and says of the major infrastructure project – "not only will there be long-term economic and green benefits but HS2 will deliver a state-of-the-art railway and bring much needed capacity to our creaking rail infrastructure. Furthermore, it will create many skilled jobs, encourage rail use to combat climate change and boost our national and regional economies as we emerge from the coronavirus pandemic".

The full letter from Manuel Cortes to Grant Shapps:

Grant Shapps
Transport Secretary
Great Minster House
33 Horseferry Road London SW1P 4DR

Tuesday 3rd August 2021

Dear Grant

I’m writing to you about the furure of High Speed 2 (HS2) – specifically to gain assurances that the government still plans to press ahead with Phase 2 – the Eastern leg – of the project.

You will be aware of the many recent news articles suggested the route from Birmingham to Nottingham, Sheffield and Leeds is to be – in the words of the Dail Mail – 'scrapped' (30 July 2021), while Business Live (21 July 2021) reported that 'work on the Eastern leg of high-speed rail project HS2 has stopped', after officials from the Department for Transport (DfT) gave the order to do so.

All of this is extremely concerning and raises a number of important and pressing questions I would ask you to address.

• Is it the case that the Eastern leg is being scrapped, paused or mothballed?
• Have Ministers or officials at the DfT ordered a halt to planning work on the Eastern leg?
• Is it true that the Government is now 'only focussed' on the route to Manchester, as suggested recently to MPs by HS2 chief executive, Mark Thurston.
• Does the future of HS2 remain as one integrated project – carrying out work across the proposed routes to the currently proposed timetable?

You will be aware that any delay, halt or termination of the Eastern leg of this major rail infrastructure project would have a serious effect on what the Government has termed its 'levelling up agenda' for the North of England.

The truth of the matter is that HS2 is absolutely vital for our country in so many ways.

Not only will there be long-term economic and green benefits but HS2 will deliver a state-of-the-art railway and bring much needed capacity to our creaking rail infrastructure. Furthermore, it will create many skilled jobs, encourage rail use to combat climate change and boost our national and regional economies as we emerge from the coronavirus pandemic.

When it comes to high speed rail Britain is decades behind our European neighbours and other countries. We must see HS2 completed in full, as planned, and I ask that you give our union that commitment in setting out your response to the points raised above.