Fears high speed rail line may not be achieved by 2020

FORMER transport secretary Lord Adonis has warned that “endless dither and delay” might mean high speed rail between London and Birmingham is not be achieved in the 2020s.

• Fears coalition differences could delay high speed rail link

The Labour peer said plans to get HS2 on to the statute book by the end of this parliament could fall victim to wrangling between the coalition parties ahead of the next general election, scheduled for 2015.

The highly-controversial £33 billion network was given the go ahead in January, with a line between London and Birmingham expected to open by 2026.

Urging Prime Minister David Cameron to get a grip on the issue, Lord Adonis said: “If infrastructure projects are going to happen they need someone who is going to drive them forward, and that simply isn’t present.

“We are already on the second transport secretary since the election, the Transport Department has had three permanent secretaries in the last two years. There has been endless dither and delay.

“No one is gripping this, no-one is driving this forward. There should have been a Bill for HS2 in the Queen’s Speech when apparently we are instead going to be spending month after month debating House of Lords reform.”