Express & Star

Minister defends HS2: They used to complain about the canals coming

A Conservative minister has hit back over criticisms of HS2 – likening the controversial line to the birth of Britain's canal network.

Published
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, HS2 Minister Nusrat Ghani and Birmingham Council leader Ian Ward

Transport Minister Nusrat Ghani insisted HS2 was vital for improving connections around the country, and compared critics of the £56 billion project to those who had opposed the rise of canals in the eighteenth century.

Canals played a key role in the Industrial Revolution, although their commercial use had dwindled by the late twentieth century.

Ms Ghani was in Birmingham – the city where she grew up – to unveil a giant jigsaw depicting HS2 as "the missing piece" linking together the country's transport networks.

She conceded that some communities would feel a negative impact from the construction of high speed rail, adding: "We have to make sure HS2 deals with them with honour and in a timely fashion and to ensure they are compensated appropriately.

"In Birmingham, a lifetime ago, people were complaining about the canals coming. We have to build railways. We need greater connections, we need better networks, and unfortunately that will have some impact on some communities."

She told the E&S that the Government remained committed to fully completing HS2, including Phase 1 from London to Birmingham, and Phase 2, which is set to go through 45 miles of Staffordshire countryside on its way north to Manchester and Leeds.

Responding to concerns that the line would bust its budget, Ms Ghani insisted she would hold HS2's "feet to the fire" to make sure it was built on time and to budget.

"The commitment is there. There is no denying that there is a cost, but that is because it is such a large project," she said.

"It sound like a big sum of money but we are building one of the largest railway networks in Europe.

"My job is to make sure that I keep HS2's feet to the fire... that we stick to the schedule and we stick to the cost."

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said the second phase of HS2 was crucially important for the region. "The West Midlands will not get the full benefit of HS2 without the two northern spurs," he said.

"The real benefit for us is to be at the centre of the whole network."

He added: "I firmly believe that the Government are absolutely committed to HS2."

During her visit Ms Ghani met with apprentices from the city-based National College for High Speed Rail.