HS2: High-speed Rail Project will Fire up Economic Growth

HS2: High-speed Rail Project will Fire up Economic Growth Construction work on high-speed rail project that will link London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, officially began on Friday, expecting to create 22,000 jobs in the next few years. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said HS2 would "fire up economic growth and help to rebalance opportunity". HS2 is set to link London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. It is hoped the 20-year project will reduce passenger overcrowding and help rebalance the UK's economy through investment in transport links outside London. HS2 Ltd chief executive Mark Thurston said the reality of high-speed journeys between Britain's biggest cities had moved a step closer. Due to the expensive cost of this project, some critics describe it as a "vanity project" and say the money would be better spent on better connections between different parts of northern England. Others, such as the Stop HS2 pressure group, say it will cause considerable environmental damage. When the project was mooted in 2009, it was expected to cost an estimated £37.5bn and when the official price tag was set out in the 2015 Budget it came in at just under £56bn. But an official government report has since warned that it could cost more than £100bn and be up to five years behind schedule. Meanwhile, the prime minister said HS2 was at the heart of government plans to "build back better" and would form "the spine of our country's transport network". "But HS2's transformational potential goes even further," he added. "By creating hundreds of apprenticeships and thousands of skilled jobs, HS2 will fire up economic growth and help to rebalance opportunity across this country for years to come." According to HS2's main works contractor for the West Midlands, up to 7,000 skilled jobs would be required to complete its section of the HS2 route, with women and under-25s the core focus for recruitment and skills investment.   You might also be interested in:

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