HS2 – Letter to Constituents  

As you know, all three parties committed themselves, in their general election manifestos to support in principle for a high speed rail network and that commitment is repeated in the government's coalition agreement. The new Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond MP, has only been in office for a short time and has made no public statement yet on his position regarding HS2. However, Mr. Hammond has written to the Chairman of HS2 Ltd setting out the additional work he wants HS2 Ltd to undertake over the next year. This includes assessing the possibility of a link to Heathrow and the options for linking HS1 and HS2, which he has asked to be completed by the end of August. The new government has also asked Lord Mawhinney to continue his work on a possible direct route to Heathrow. Mr. Hammond has also said that he will visit the previous government's preferred route later this summer to...