HS2 rail link to Manchester could face axe because more people are working from home, minister warns
THE HS2 rail link to Manchester could be axed because more people are working from home, the Business Secretary warns.
Kemi Badenoch gave the strongest hint about the line from Birmingham being dropped after meeting bosses.
She told LBC radio: “We have to look at what businesses are saying.
“The last conversation I had was about people working from home. We have to start thinking differently about infrastructure.”
HS2 was originally meant to cost £30billion but costs have soared to a predicted £91billion. Shelving the Birmingham-Manchester stage would save £34billion.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said yesterday he was in discussion with the PM concerning the “overrun” in costs.
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He added: “We need to find a way of delivering infrastructure projects that don’t cost taxpayers billions and billions of pounds.”
The north-eastern leg of the line to Leeds has been scrapped and construction work at Euston station has been on hold for two years.
Meanwhile, top civil servant Alex Chisholm and minister Jeremy Quin have told mandarins to cut homeworking.