Part of the scrapped second phase of high-speed rail project HS2 could be back on the table.
Reports this morning suggest phase 2a, between Birmingham city centre and Crewe, will be resurrected by the new Labour government. is planning to make an announcement which confirms the line will now run from London Euston to Crewe.
Its report states that ministers have re-evaluated the cost-benefit of HS2 and decided the line should continue beyond Birmingham. This would partly reverse then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's and the new rail line would run just between Birmingham, Solihull and London, known as phase one.
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Doubt continues to hang over whether trains on the route would switch to conventional tracks at a new station in Old Oak Common, West London, or continue all the way on high-speed lines into a new station next door to London Euston which is currently under construction. The original masterplan for HS2 would have brought high-speed rail to the East and West Midlands, North West and Yorkshire.
Phase one comprises new lines and four new stations, at Old Oak Common and Euston in London, Interchange near Birmingham Airport and Curzon Street in Birmingham city centre. Phase 2a, which already has Parliamentary approval, would have run between Birmingham and Crewe while phase 2b would have then extended that line from Crewe to Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly.
Phase 2b also included a new line connecting Birmingham with the East Midlands and Leeds. However, in the past few years the Government has slowly chipped away at that initial vision, leaving just phase one progressing as planned.
Insiders have told LBC that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer held private discussions about the project during the recent Labour Party Conference and the Government was planning an announcement in the new year. The report also suggests a private sector consortium will oversee the construction of phase 2a rather than HS2.
This is the latest twist in a project which has attracted controversy from the very start such as the spiralling cost, delays in its launch and the environmental impact of building the line. At current estimates, trains will start running on phase one in 2029 at the earliest.
The Department for Transport told LBC: "Transport is an essential part of the Government's mission to rebuild Britain and grow our economy. We are committed to improving rail connectivity across the North, working with local leaders to do so."
The news has been roundly criticised by campaign group TaxPayers' Alliance, with chief executive John O'Connell saying any move to reverse phase 2a "would only further derail the public finances, all for the sake of a massive white elephant.
"The case for HS2 has long since been torn to shreds by uncontrollable costs, changes to rail usage and the much greater need for investment in alternative projects," he said in a statement. "If Labour wants to fill the black hole in the budget they'd be better off pulling the plug on the whole scheme."
TSSA, the trade union for staff employed directly by HS2, is calling for clarity on the project following this morning's reports.
General secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said: "Scrapping phase two of HS2 was a foolish decision by the Tories and, if the Government now plans to partly reverse this, it would be very good news.
"However, given there has been so much uncertainty over the project, ministers should now give the public absolute clarity. We have long said HS2 should be built in full and should go all the way to Scotland - that remains our position."
Staffordshire MP Sir Gavin Williamson has spoken out against the plans and written to Chancellor Rachel Reeves to express his concern.
The Conservative member for Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge said that HS2 had caused "massive suffering and financial uncertainty" for Staffordshire residents.
"The astronomical costs do not align with Labour's plans to plug the so-called ‘£22 billion black hole' that they allegedly inherited and do absolutely nothing to improve transport links in Staffordshire.
"My constituency will suffer with the upheaval and bulldoze approach that HS2 will generate but stands very little to gain, with the nearest stations being in Birmingham and Crewe.
"What we need to see is improved services from stations such as Penkridge and Stone - direct links to major cities and improvement to existing infrastructure, not the revival of a scheme without evidence-based benefits as well as being a drain of taxpayer's resources."
