The HS2 Project has attracted controversy and dissent since it was first announced back in 2012.
The cost of the project originally estimated at around 32.7bn when approved in 2012 has soared to£107.7bn
The Eastern Route has been killed off in in yet another controversy with some sources suggesting it is merely on hold while others seem adamant that it has been killed. Temporarily or permanently, the bottom line is there is just not enough money in government coffers to fund this part of the project.t the buffers next week.
The axing of the route, linking Birmingham with Nottingham, Sheffield and Leeds will save £40 billion.
At the same time another crisis has hit HS2 with Siemens Mobility taking the government to court over the awarding of a £2.8bn train building contract.
According to Siemens the contract was awarded to Hitachi and Bombardier after a process “shrouded in mystery”.
Siemens claim that the Hitachi/Bombardier joint venture was selected in spite of a failure to meet HS2 technical requirements, as well as the lack of consideration of the problems with Hitachi’s trains that led to widespread disruption across the UK rail network earlier this year.
Siemens are seeking an injunction to prevent the awarding of the train building contract to Hitachi and Bombardier, claiming that their own contract is the only one to fulfil HS2’s original requirements.
Back in June HS2 reached an out of court settlement with Spanish train manufacturer, Talgo, for similar issues.
In better news, Hartlepool dock is to be the beneficiary of over 100 new jobs thanks to HS2.
An old oil rig fabrication is set to become a factory for the manufacture of precast tunnel segments for HS2. 36,000 concrete segments will be produced at the site for tunnels running from Old Oak Common station to Green Parkway in London. The new factory is owned by PD Ports at Hartlepool Dock and will bring new skilled job opportunities to the local area.
HS2 claims to have created over 20,000 jobs and the with a completion date of approximately 2030 for the first phase, it is likely that many more jobs and many more controversies, missed deadlines and budget changes will take place.
