{"id":7511,"date":"2024-02-01T08:37:09","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T22:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=7511"},"modified":"2024-02-01T08:37:09","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T22:37:09","slug":"privately-funded-alternatives-to-scrapped-hs2-section-discussed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=7511","title":{"rendered":"Privately-funded alternatives to scrapped HS2 section discussed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and Transport Secretary Mark Harper<\/strong> have had a \u201cconstructive\u201d discussion about privately-funded alternatives to a scrapped section of HS2<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Jacob King\/PA Wire<\/em><\/p>\n

Mr Burnham told MPs that there had been a \u201cconstructive\u201d discussion about the future of the scrapped section of HS2, as he stressed doing nothing would create \u201ca major transport headache\u201d.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cancelled the plan to extend HS2 between the West Midlands and Manchester in October 2023 amid spiralling costs.<\/p>\n

Mr Burnham and West Midlands mayor Andy Street have commissioned a group of private sector organisations to consider how to finance major rail improvements between Handsacre Junction, Staffordshire \u2013 where HS2 will end \u2013 and High Leigh, Cheshire, which is on the planned route for Northern Powerhouse Rail between Manchester and Liverpool.<\/p>\n

The coalition is chaired by Sir David Higgins, a former chairman of HS2 Ltd, and includes businesses such as Arup, EY, Arcadis and Mace.<\/p>\n

Mr Burnham told the Commons\u2019 Transport Select Committee: \u201cWe\u2019ve had a constructive discussion with the Secretary of State this morning about the work that we\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good that the Government is at least listening to what we\u2019re saying.<\/p>\n

\u201cInto February and then March I think the outputs of the work the group is doing will become more known.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cIf we do nothing, we will have a major transport headache.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could argue we\u2019ve got it now anyway, but as 2030 and 2040 come around, there is just no way on God\u2019s earth that the M6 and the West Coast mainline are capable of servicing the growth that we\u2019re seeing in Greater Manchester and in the West Midlands.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere has to be another option for rail connectivity between the two cities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just looking at those possibilities, looking at a modest upgrade to the West Coast mainline or something more substantial, and how private finance might play a role in that.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and Transport Secretary Mark Harper have had a \u201cconstructive\u201d discussion about privately-funded alternatives to a scrapped section of HS2. Jacob […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":7512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153,387,85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-british-railways","category-scotlands-railway","category-uk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t