Government confirms commitment to HS2

The Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has confirmed that the government is committed to pressing ahead with HS2 to tackle the looming capacity crisis the rail network faces and to help boost jobs and regeneration along the route and across the country.

Construction is due to begin on the scheme in the first half of next year. The project go ahead is good news for the steel construction sector as it has been estimated that more than 200 bridges will be needed for the scheme, many of which will be steel.

Chris Grayling said: “We need HS2 now more than ever. We’re facing a rapidly approaching crunch-point. In the last 20 years alone, the number of people travelling on our railways has more than doubled and our rail network is the most intensively used of any in Europe.

“We need HS2 for the capacity it will bring on the routes between London, the West Midlands, Crewe, Leeds and Manchester as well as the space it’ll create elsewhere on our transport network. We need it for the boost it will give to our regional and national economies. And we need it for the jobs it will create, and for the way it will link our country together.