Official review into HS2 calls for troubled project to go ahead

An official review into the future of HS2 will recommend the scheme should go ahead – according to reports.

The BBC is claiming it has seen the final version of the Oakervee Report which is due to be published next month.

And according to the broadcaster the report recommends the scheme should go ahead despite being massively over budget and running years behind schedule.

Boris Johnson ordered the review into HS2 within weeks of becoming prime minister in the summer.

The review was ordered after it emerged the budget for the high speed rail link between London and the North could almost double from the original £56bn.

The government’s official review into HS2 “strongly advises against cancelling” the project according to the BBC.

HS2 Phase Two

The BBC claims to have seen the final version of the report which was led by former HS2 chairman Douglas Oakervee.

The report strongly advises cancelling the project even though the final bill could be as much as £100bn.

The report said ditching the scheme would have a detrimental impact on the UK’s “fragile” construction industry.

The first phase of HS2 between London and Birmingham is due to open by 2026 with the second phase to Leeds and Manchester due to be completed by 2032-33.

Business leaders and politicians in the North have been campaigning for months for the project to go ahead.