HS2 TRAINS will not be pulling in to Solihull by 2033 as originally planned.
The news came as Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander vowed to address years of mismanagement and restore public trust in the highly controversial 190km high speed rail line being built between London and Birmingham – which will cut through the heart of Solihull and into Arden Cross where the Interchange Station will be based.
Newly appointed HS2 Ltd chief executive, Mark Wild, confirmed there was no possibility of trains running by 2033 as was previously planned, and he also warned costs would continue to increase if not taken in hand.
Mrs Alexander also said she would accept all recommendations from the James Stewart Review commissioned by the Government last October.
The report sets out evidence of the historic mishandling of the controversial high speed rail line including a lack of ministerial oversight and scrutiny, inadequate control of the project by HS2 Ltd, and a lack of effective incentives with the supply chain, which will collectively cost the taxpayer billions more than planned.
In a statement to Parliament, the Secretary of State condemned the “litany of failure” that had plagued HS2, citing spiralling costs, ineffective oversight, and broken promises.
She added that without action, Phase one alone risked becoming one of the most expensive railway lines in the world – with costs ballooning by £37billion and £2billion wasted on cancelled Phase two works.
She continued the Government had taken decisive action to get back control of HS2 including appointing new leadership – Mr Wild and Mike Brown as HS2 Ltd chair to reset the project, commissioning the James Stewart Review, reducing financial delegations to HS2 Ltd, limiting what the company could do without Government approval to place a lid on spiralling costs until the reset was complete, and providing £25billion in the recent Spending Review to support all of this work.
Mrs Alexander said: “This must be a line in the sand. This Government is delivering HS2 from Birmingham to London after years of mismanagement, flawed reporting and ineffective oversight.
“Mark Wild and Mike Brown were part of the team, with me, that turned Crossrail into the Elizabeth Line – we have done it before, we will do it again.
“Passengers and taxpayers deserve new railways the country can be proud of, and the work to get HS2 back on track is firmly underway.”
HS2 is supporting over 33,000 jobs and over 3,400 UK businesses across all UK nations and regions. Over 44 miles of tunnels have been completed to date and the 2.1-mile deck of the Colne Valley Viaduct, the UK’s new longest railway bridge, was completed last September.
