HS2: Parts of rail project to be delayed for two years

Published

3 years ago

March 10, 2023

admin

The government has announced the construction of sections of HS2 will be delayed by two years to save money.

The high-speed railway was initially set to link London and the West Midlands with a further phase extending to cities in the North.

However, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said on Thursday: “We have seen significant inflationary pressure and increased project costs, and so we will rephase construction by two years, with an aim to deliver high-speed services to Crewe and the North West as soon as possible after accounting for the delay in construction.”

The delay will affect the northwest section of HS2, from Birmingham to Crewe, and then from Crewe to Manchester.

The first part was due for extension between 2030 and 2034 to help boost transport in the north of England, but the window has now shifted to 2032 to 2036 while services will not extend to Manchester until the 2040s.

In a written ministerial statement, Mr Harper said the government is “prioritising HS2’s initial services” between Old Oak Common in west London and Birmingham Curzon Street.

On delivering services to central London, he also hinted at delays, saying: “We will address affordability pressures to ensure the overall spending profile is manageable.

“We will therefore take the time to ensure we have an affordable and deliverable station design, delivering Euston alongside high-speed infrastructure to Manchester.”

This means it could be more than a decade before high-speed services stop at Euston, with passengers expected instead travel for half an hour on the Elizabeth Line.

Mr Harper also announced a series of setbacks affecting key road projects under cost-saving measures that threaten to deliver a blow to “levelling up” plans.

A planned extension to Leeds was already shelved in November 2021.

Labour said the latest delay meant the North was again having to “pay the price” for government failures.

Louise Haigh, the shadow transport secretary, said: “Tens of thousands of jobs, and billions in economic growth are dependent on this project.

“The North is yet again being asked to pay the price for staggering Conservative failure.

“Conservative chaos and chronic indecision is holding back jobs, growth and costing the taxpayer.

“This is the biggest project in Europe and delays pile costs up in the long run – ministers now need to come clean on precisely how much their indecision will cost taxpayers and the North.”

Raising a point of order in the Commons, Labour MP Sarah Owen also attacked Mr Harper for “avoiding scrutiny”.

She said the cabinet minister “should have had the decency to come to this House and explain to members why they are doing this” instead of publishing a written statement “at nearly 5 o’clock on Thursday afternoon”.

Commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle also criticised the way the delay was communicated, with his spokesperson saying: “The Speaker has consistently told the government that major policy announcements should be made to the House first so that members have the chance to ask questions on behalf of their constituents, rather than hearing about them via the media.”

Delay ‘could lead to higher costs’

Delivery of the high-speed railway has been a core pledge of the Conservative government but it has been plagued by delays and ever-increasing costs – from estimates of about £33 billion in 2010 to £55.7bn for the whole project in 2015.

By 2019, the estimated cost had soared to at least £71bn, excluding the final eastern leg from the West Midlands to the East Midlands.

Ministers are understood to be delaying construction of the northern section in the hope they can spread the cost over a longer period of time so it was more affordable annually.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is set to announce his spring budget next week and will have Rishi Sunak’s target in mind – to get government debt to fall as a percentage of GDP within five years.

However, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said the delay would hit confidence in the rail industry and could ultimately lead to higher overall costs for HS2.

John Foster, the CBI’s policy unit programme director, said the news “will ultimately reduce investor and contractor confidence in the rail sector”.

“To mitigate further loss of confidence, it is critical that government tackles the inflationary pressures which are biting hard across the infrastructure sector,” he said.

“Delays to projects may create short-term savings, but they can ultimately lead to higher overall costs and slow down the UK’s transition to a better, faster and greener transport network.”

HS2 a ‘colossal mistake’

Leader of Birmingham City Council, Ian Ward, said the delay is “another betrayal of the Midlands and the North, making a mockery of the government’s empty promises to level up the UK economy”.

But Conservative MP and former chief secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke said delaying construction “would be a sensible decision”.

“Having observed HS2’s progress as chief secretary, I have serious doubts as to value for money and cost control,” he said.

Greg Smith, the Conservative MP for Buckingham, called for the government to “accept the whole thing was a colossal mistake and scrap it, all of it”.

Just last week, rail minister Huw Merriman told the Commons the government is “absolutely committed” to delivering HS2 but admitted “cost pressures” must be examined.

HS2 Ltd chief executive Mark Thurston said the project had suffered a “significant” impact from increased costs in building materials, fuel and energy due to high inflation.

HS2 is Britain’s biggest infrastructure project and has had support from governments of all stripes since it was first mooted more than a decade ago.

But last month, the government reportedly planned to make drastic changes that would almost halve the number of high-speed trains per hour and services would travel slower to save money.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said at the time it “does not comment on speculation” and said the government “remain committed to delivering the project”.

In January, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said he did not see “any conceivable circumstance” in which the original plan would not be followed after reports the high-speed line could stop before reaching central London.

There were claims the last leg of HS2 into Euston could be scrapped and replaced with a new hub at Old Oak Common in the suburbs of northwest London, where it is set to stop before travelling into Euston.

The government did not deny the reports or that a two to five-year delay to the entire project – currently due to be completed between 2029 and 2033 – was being considered due to record high inflation impacting costs.

World

At least 65 dead and hundreds missing as police make arrests over Hong Kong fire

Published

1 hour ago

November 27, 2025

admin

At least 65 dead and hundreds missing as police make arrests over Hong Kong fire

At least 65 people have been killed, and police have made several arrests, after a huge fire engulfed a high-rise residential complex in Hong Kong.

Authorities said nearly 300 people are also missing following the blaze at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po – a suburban district with around 300,000 residents, near the border with mainland China.

A further 70 people have been injured, including more than 40 who were described as critically ill in hospital on Wednesday night. Around 900 people are also in shelters as a result of the blaze.

Police have alleged its cause could have been a “grossly negligent” construction firm using unsafe materials.

Three people – two directors and an engineering consultant – have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.

“We have reason to believe that the company’s responsible parties were grossly negligent, which led to this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably, resulting in major casualties,” said police superintendent Eileen Chung. Police have not named the company.

The complex, built in the 1980s, had been under renovation for a year.

One firefighter was among those killed tackling the blaze, which broke out at 2.51pm local time on Wednesday.

Fire crews said they had doused the flames in all seven of the affected blocks by Thursday morning, and were searching each floor for survivors.

Records show the Wang Fuk Court site consists of eight blocks, with almost 2,000 flats housing around 4,800 residents, including many elderly people.

Families have been identifying the bodies of relatives while others have been visiting shelters in the area, searching for missing loved ones.

Hong Kong leader John Lee said on Thursday the government will set up a HK$300m (£29m) fund to help residents.

The cause of the fire is being investigated, but it appears to have started in bamboo scaffolding and construction mesh sheets and then spread across seven of the complex’s eight buildings – likely aided by windy conditions.

Bamboo scaffolding is commonly used in Hong Kong, but is in the process of being phased out because of safety concerns.

Hong Kong’s Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims said there have been at least three fires involving bamboo scaffolding this year.

China’s state broadcaster CCTV said President Xi Jinping has urged an “all-out effort” to extinguish the fire and minimise casualties and losses.

Both the US and British Consulate Generals for Hong Kong have sent condolences to those affected, as has Taiwan’s president.

The number of dead is the highest in a Hong Kong fire since 1948, when 176 people were killed in a warehouse blaze.

The fire has prompted comparisons to the Grenfell Tower blaze which killed 72 people in 2017, blamed on flammable cladding, as well as failings by the government and the construction industry.

“Our hearts go out to all those affected by the horrific fire in Hong Kong,” the Grenfell United survivors’ group said on
social media.

“To the families, friends and communities, we stand with you. You are not alone.”

World

Washington DC shooting: Trump condemns ‘monstrous’ attack near White House – and says suspect is Afghan national

Published

1 hour ago

November 27, 2025

admin

Washington DC shooting: Trump condemns 'monstrous' attack near White House - and says suspect is Afghan national

Donald Trump has called for every Afghan national who entered the US under the Biden administration to be investigated following the shooting of two National Guard troops near the White House.

The president said the “monstrous, ambush-style attack” was carried out by an Afghan national who arrived in September 2021 during America’s chaotic withdrawal from Kabul.

“This attack underscores the single greatest national security threat facing our nation,” Mr Trump said in an address to the nation from Florida.

He vowed to “reexamine every single alien” who has entered the US from Afghanistan under the previous government, and said: “I am determined to ensure the animal who perpetrated this atrocity will pay the steepest possible price.”

Suspect to face terror probe

America’s citizenship and immigration office said it had stopped processing all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals indefinitely.

The suspect in custody is 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal.

Both guardsmen were shot in the head, according to NBC, citing senior officials briefed on the investigation.

Wednesday’s shooting – carried out with a handgun – will be investigated by the FBI as a possible act of terror.

The White House was placed into lockdown following the incident, while Mr Trump is away for Thanksgiving.

Victims in ‘critical condition’

West Virginia’s governor initially said both victims were members of his state’s National Guard and had died from their injuries – but later posted to say there were “conflicting reports about the condition of our two Guard members”.

Patrick Morrisey had said: “These brave West Virginians lost their lives in the service of their country.”

👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈

Hundreds of National Guard members have been patrolling the capital after Mr Trump issued an emergency order in August, which federalised the local police force and sent in the guard from eight states and the District of Columbia.

Mr Trump has announced an extra 500 troops will be deployed in the wake of Wednesday’s shooting.

FBI director Kash Patel said the troops were “brazenly attacked in a horrendous act of violence”.

At a news conference, he clarified they were in a “critical condition”.

Former president Joe Biden, who was heavily criticised by Mr Trump in his address, said he and his wife Jill were “heartbroken” by the shooting.

“Violence of any kind is unacceptable, and we must all stand united against it,” said a statement.

Analysis: Trump’s statement could embolden anti-immigration Americans

US correspondent Mark Stone said it was expected that Trump’s statement would have an update on the investigation and the victims’ condition.

“What struck me was the president’s decision to be so political and to make the point as he wanted to, it seemed, that this will now embolden him to find out who else might be here illegally, wherever they may be from,” Stone said.

“And he singled out Somalis in Minnesota, of course, a Democratic-run state.”

Stone said Trump’s statement could further embolden those who already hold anti-immigration sentiments.

“You might expect a leader in this sort of situation to deal with the facts as he knows them and to call for unity. But it’s not Trump’s style to do that.”

How the attack unfolded

Jeff Carroll, chief of the metropolitan police department in the area, said the attack began at 2.15pm local time (7.15pm in the UK) while National Guard members were on “high visibility patrols in the area”.

He said: “A suspect came around the corner, raised his arm with a firearm and discharged it at the National Guard.

“The National Guard members were… able to – after some back and forth – able to subdue the individual and bring them into custody.”

Washington DC mayor Muriel Bowser called the attack a “targeted shooting”.

Social media footage showed first responders attempting CPR on one of the soldiers as they treated the other on a pavement covered in glass.

Nearby other officers could be seen restraining an individual on the ground.

The scene was cordoned off by police tape, while agents from the US Secret Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives attended the scene, as National Guard troops stood sentry nearby.

The FBI was also on the scene, the agency’s director said.

World

Woman killed and man injured in shark attack in New South Wales, Australia

Published

1 hour ago

November 27, 2025

admin

Woman killed and man injured in shark attack in New South Wales, Australia

A woman has been killed by a shark and a man seriously injured at a popular beach in Australia.

Emergency services were alerted to the attack at Crowdy Bay National Park, near Port Macquarie, around 218 miles north of Sydney, at 6.30am local time on Thursday.

They were responding to reports two people had been bitten by a shark.

The pair had entered the water at Kylies Beach, a popular surfing spot, for an early morning swim.

The woman, who is believed to be in her 20s, died at the scene. She has not yet been identified.

The man, also understood to be in his 20s, was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition.

He is now said to be in a serious but stable condition, with police believing a bystander’s first aid may have prevented a double fatality.

Police Chief Inspector Timothy Bayly said: “I just really need to have a shoutout to the bystander on the beach who put a makeshift tourniquet on the male’s leg which obviously potentially saved his life and allowed New South Wales Ambulance paramedics to get to him and render first aid.”

The officer did not give any further details of the injuries or circumstances of the attack.

He said: “At this stage, all I’m prepared to say is they were known to each other and they were going for a swim and the shark attacked.”

Experts said it is rare for a shark to attack more than one person.

Gavin Naylor, director of the University of Florida‘s shark research programme, said: “It is very unusual. Individual shark attacks are rare. And shark attacks on two people by the same individual is not unheard of, but it’s very rare.”

He added: “Sometimes younger sharks are less judicious and they can make mistakes. Where sharks are close to seal colonies and feeding, the probability (of attack) is higher.

“The few bites that we do have where a single shark has bitten multiple people, it’s usually tiger sharks. We’ve never seen white sharks do that unless somebody’s heroically jumping in the way.”

The beach – known for camping, fishing spots and hiking tracks – has been closed to the public as authorities work to determine the species of shark involved.