Transport Secretary to draw ‘line in the sand' over HS2 as she reveals failings
Heidi Alexander will tell the Commons on Wednesday that she is drawing a 'line in the sand' over the beleaguered rail project, as the Government attempts to reset how major infrastructure is delivered.
Ministers plan to learn from the mistakes of HS2 so that they do a better job when it comes to projects like Northern Powerhouse Rail and the Lower Thames Crossing, it is understood.
'HS2 has made Britain a laughing stock in terms of its ability to deliver big infrastructure projects, and it has to end. This will set out the way we will do that,' a Government source told the PA news agency.
The result of two reviews into HS2 are expected to be announced alongside the Transport Secretary's statement.
The first of these is an interim report by Mark Wild, the chief executive of HS2, who was appointed late last year.
He will assess the construction of the project's first phase from London to Birmingham.
A second, wider review into the governance and accountability of HS2, led by James Stewart, will also report back.
This is expected to set out what has gone wrong with the project, and what ministers can learn for future infrastructure projects.
As she addresses MPs, the Transport Secretary is expected to address allegations of fraud by contractors to HS2 which have emerged recently.
Earlier this week, it emerged HS2 Ltd reported a sub-contractor working on the rail line to HMRC following an internal probe.
During the statement, Ms Alexander is also set to announce a new chair of HS2.
The current chair, Sir Jon Thompson, previously announced he would stand down in the spring of this year.
His replacement will be Mike Brown, according to The Daily Telegraph newspaper.
Mr Brown is the former commissioner for Transport for London, who helped to oversee the deliver of Crossrail, the transport project which became London's Elizabeth Line.
HS2 was originally due to run between London and Birmingham, then onto Manchester and Leeds, but the project was severely curtailed by the Conservatives in power due to spiralling costs.
Concerns about the costs of the stunted project have persisted, with £100 million spent on a bat tunnel aimed at mitigating the railway's environmental impact singled out by Sir Keir Starmer for criticism.
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