Railway Industry Association welcomes Prime Ministerial support for HS2

12 February 2019


Yesterday, the Prime Minister’s spokesperson announced the Government remained fully committed to HS2.

Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Railway Industry Association (RIA) said: “The Railway Industry Association welcomes comments made by the Prime Minister’s spokesman, that Theresa May remains fully committed to HS2, and that HS2 is working with its supply chain to ensure this essential project is delivered within the budget set by government.

“HS2 is an exciting project which is making strong progress, with over £6.5 billion of construction contracts already awarded for Phase 1 of the project – from London to the West Midlands – with more contracts to come over the next few years. The Bill for Phase 2a – West Midlands to Crewe – is moving at pace through Parliament too. And the Bill for Phase 2b – West Midlands to Leeds and Crewe to Manchester – will follow in due course.

“HS2 is happening. The focus now needs to be on working to ensure we deliver this world-class project, to the benefit of the UK economy, passengers and freight users, taxpayers, and ultimately communities who will see greatly enhanced connectivity to all parts of the UK.” 

Notes to Editors

  1. The Prime Minister’s spokesperson said on 11 February 2019: “The PM remains fully committed to HS2. HS2 is working with its supply chain to ensure this essential project is delivered within the budget set by government.”
  2. For the UK, HS2 will be transformative. It will generate £92 billion in economic benefits by connecting eight out of ten of the UK’s largest cities, drive urban regeneration along the line of route, support 30,000 jobs across the country during peak construction and help the UK rail supply chain develop even further its world-class capabilities in delivering high speed rail schemes, which can then be utilised to boost exports abroad. There has already been a significant impact of the project on UK rail’s skills base, with the opening of two world-leading National College for High Speed Rail campuses in Doncaster and Birmingham.
  3. About RIA: The Railway Industry Association (RIA) is the voice of the UK rail supply community. We help to grow a sustainable, high-performing, railway supply industry, and to export UK rail expertise and products. We promote and represent our members’ interests to policy makers, clients and other stakeholders in the UK and overseas. RIA has 250+ companies in membership in a sector that contributes £36 billion in economic growth and £11 billion in tax revenue each year, as well as employing 600,000 people—more than the workforce of Birmingham. It is also a growing industry with the number of rail journeys expected to double over the next 25 years and freight set to grow significantly too. RIA’s membership is active across the whole of railway supply, covering a diverse range of products and services and including both multi-national companies and SMEs (60% by number). RIA works to promote the importance of the rail system to UK plc, to help export UK expertise around the globe and to share best practice and innovation across the industry.