Boris Johnson Set to Back High-Speed Rail Project Despite Costs
Boris Johnson Set to Back High-Speed Rail Project Despite Costs
(Bloomberg) -- U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to push ahead with the HS2 high-speed rail project linking London to northern England, despite political opposition and spiraling costs.
The new route will be the U.K.’s biggest ever infrastructure project -- and currently Europe’s largest -- but the total price tag could reach more than 100 billion pounds ($129 billion). The first trains may not start running until 2031.
Johnson aims to announce his decision to proceed with HS2 on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter. His team is likely to demand an accelerated program of construction on the first phases of the project, linking London to Birmingham in central England, and onward to the town of Crewe, one of the people said.
The project is highly sensitive politically for Johnson’s government. Backers of the plan say it will cut journey times, increase capacity, create jobs and help link northern and central parts of England to the wealthier south. Boosting the country’s former industrial heartlands is Johnson’s key political mission now that the U.K. has left the European Union.
First-Time Tories
He won a majority in Parliament largely thanks to persuading voters in these areas to back him, with some traditionally Labour-supporting districts electing Conservatives for the first time. But many Tory members of Parliament oppose HS2 because the line will cut through their districts, causing severe disruption for thousands of constituents.
“We’re going to have an infrastructure revolution in this country -- I’ve been very clear about that -- and whether it is HS2 or something else, we’ve always got to make sure that costs do not get out of control and those projects are delivered on time,” Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid told BBC radio. He declined to comment on the government’s final decision, while confirming that an announcement on HS2 would come on Tuesday.
Johnson plans to reshuffle his cabinet Thursday, though Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, who is responsible for HS2, will keep his job, officials said.
HS2 trains will reach speeds of 225 miles (362 kilometers) per hour, faster than most other high-speed lines in the world. On the High Speed 1 Channel Tunnel line, Eurostar trains to and from continental Europe reach 186 mph and domestic services 140 mph.
Construction Boom
HS2 will also triple north-south capacity, with as many as 14 trains an hour using the line.
The biggest HS2 contracts are for the construction of the line and its stations, with at least 11.5 billion pounds of work handed out across 27 tenders as of August.
“The decision to go ahead with HS2 is good news for the economy in general and is an immediate fillip to the construction sector,” the Unite labor union said in a statement ahead of the government’s expected announcement.
Balfour Beatty Plc, Britain’s biggest civil engineer, leads the way, holding contracts with Vinci SA of France to design and build bridges, tunnels, embankments and viaducts for the northern half of first phase of the line, valued at about 2.5 billion pounds.
The same two companies, together with Paris-based SYSTRA SA, have been engaged to build a 1 billion-pound hub interchange between HS2, the London subway and the main line to southwest England at Old Oak Common, London.
--With assistance from Jessica Shankleman and Christopher Jasper.
To contact the reporters on this story: Tim Ross in London at tross54@bloomberg.net;Thomas Penny in London at tpenny@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Thomas Penny
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