HS2 review ‘calls for further delay of northern leg’

The Oakervee Review has recommended an additional review of the second phase of HS2, according to a leaked copy of the report seen by The Financial Times (£).

It has also said the cost of the rail project could rise to £106bn. The latest official estimate from the project is that it would cost between £81bn-£88bn.

Prime minister Boris Johnson’s commissioned review into the project, led by former HS2 chair Doug Oakervee, was set up to assess factors including whether the project should continue, its costs and the route it should take. It was initially expected to be published last autumn.

According to the FT however, Oakervee has suggested that phase 2B of the project, running from the West Midlands to Manchester and Leeds, should be paused for six months to allow further research to assess whether a mix of conventional and high-speed lines in these regions would be more beneficial. It also said that further work is needed to assess the impact of the project on regional growth and said it is “hard” to determine the economic benefits of the project.

The review has said that “on balance”, the route should be completed subject to a “number of qualifications”. It estimated that HS2 would be completed by 2040, seven years behind the current timescale.

It also reported that the review has increasing concerns about HS2 management and said, “the review considers that significant progress is needed to ensure that HS2 is ready to manage the construction of phase one”. It said numerous construction issues remain unresolved and contractors have not yet agreed “acceptable” prices for the construction. It added that current designs for the construction of Euston station are “not satisfactory”.

The review has reportedly concluded that there are no “shovel-ready alternatives” to the project but said HS2 would need to be accompanied by additional investments in local transport.

Last November a draft version of the review was apparently leaked to The Times. It said that the report was going to back the project in full.

Former Oakervee Review deputy chair Lord Tony Berkeley told Construction News this morning that the apparent report is “hardly a ringing endorsement of HS2″. Earlier this month, he published his own report into the project, which concluded that project costs were “out of control” and alleged that MPs have been misled on the costs of the project.

“There’s a change in tone and substance [compared to the draft review] – it is not as enthusiastic as it once was,” he said.

The Labour peer added that he disagreed with the reported conclusion that there are no other shovel-ready projects, citing electrification work and the track widening at Manchester Piccadilly station as possible alternatives.

According to The Times today, chief executives of several construction firms, including Balfour Beatty, Sir Robert McAlpine, Morgan Sindall, Skanska and Mace, have written to the prime minister warning that HS2 is “needed to maintain Britain’s engineering and construction capability”.

In a separate statement, Civil Engineering Contractors Association director of external affairs Marie-Claude Hemming said: “There are simply no alternative shovel-ready projects on the same scale in the pipeline, or other means of delivering growth in the economies of the Midlands and the North, as rapidly, as this once-in-a-generation scheme.

“We must refrain from characterising the decision to go ahead with HS2 as an either/or choice in terms of investment.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “A draft of the Oakervee Report was delivered shortly before Christmas. The transport secretary, chancellor and prime minister will take a final decision on HS2 shortly.”