Ministers looking at ‘pipeline of schemes’ to run HS2 north of Birmingham
Ministers are looking at a “realistic pipeline of schemes” to link HS2 to destinations north of Birmingham, the Transport Secretary has said. Conservative shadow transport secretary Gareth Bacon accused Labour of having triggered an “ongoing decline in reliability” across the country, as a result of a pay deal last year with the Aslef trade union. “But what I want to know is does the Government plan to deliver a rail solution linking phase one north of Birmingham to the rest of the country, and thus delivering the Government’s vision to drive growth for the whole country.” Ms Alexander replied: “I’m pleased that she raises the question of the mess that we inherited from the Conservative government on HS2 and rail connectivity in the north. When we entered government in July we did find that ragtag collection of half-baked, unfunded spending commitments for rail schemes up and down the country.” She added: “We have started the hard work of identifying a realistic pipeline of schemes that is affordable and will deliver better connectivity in partnership with local leaders.” Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Paul Kohler urged ministers to “commit to a high-speed rail link from Birmingham to Crewe to ensure mid and north Wales can at least share in the benefits of HS2”. Ms Alexander said she had met with the Welsh Government’s cabinet secretary for transport Ken Skates and is working with Wales Secretary Jo Stevens “to ensure that we bring public transport improvements to Wales”.
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