HS2 construction to begin amid coronavirus lockdown

Andrew Stephenson, the minister in charge of the project, said the construction companies involved would need to observe social distancing measures as they started.

“We cannot delay work on our long-term plan to level up the country,” he commented.

The project was approved by prime minister Boris Johnson in February, after a lengthy review into its ballooning cost.

According to the official report, the project could end up costing more than £100bn, and be five years behind its previous schedule.

Its original budget, outlined by Network Rail in 2010, was up to £36bn.

“This next step provides thousands of construction workers and businesses across the country with certainty at a time when they need it,” Stephenson added, as the four joint ventures contracted to build the railway were handed theri notices to proceed.

The first phase of the project will see a new high-speed link built between a rebuilt London Euston and a new ‘Birmingham Interchange’ station in the West Midlands city.

That is due to be completed by 2031.

The second phase, which will be completed by 2040, will see two branches constructed in the North of England - one to Leeds, via an ‘East Midlands Hub’, and another to Manchester and Wigan, via Crewe.

Companies involved in the construction of HS2 include Balfour Beatty, Costain and Skanska Construction.

“This is good news for our rail industry and its supply chains and shows a future beyond the coronavirus lockdown,” said Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), which represents a number of rail industry workers.

“It’s the green economic boost our country and economy needs.”

“Our economy will need a significant boost once we have beaten coronavirus and we are under no illusions about the scale and challenge that a big economic downturn will create.”

Matthew Kilcoyne, deputy director of the neoliberal think tank and lobbying outfit the Adam Smith Institute, called the announcement ‘tone-deaf’ amid the Covid-19 pandemic, however.

“We've got an economic crisis that's going to cost taxpayers billions,” he said.

“We can't afford vanity projects like HS2.

"We need to get back on to a sustainable financial footing.”