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Lord Hammond, who also served as Transport Secretary, said \u201cexhaustive\u201d studies by the Department for Transport had concluded it made no sense to axe the northern leg of HS2 to Manchester, or to scrap plans to run trains to Euston.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI don\u2019t think a decision has been made yet and I would urge the Prime Minister not to scrap either the Euston terminus or the link from Birmingham to Manchester.\u201d<\/p>\n
It makes him the latest Conservative big-hitter to put pressure on Mr Sunak after former Tory Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and David Cameron hit out at suggestions HS2 trains heading north could stop at Birmingham, and run no further than Old Oak Common in west London.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: <\/strong> Boris blasts Rishi’s reported HS2 plan as ‘height of insanity’<\/strong><\/p>\n Speaking to the Sunday Express, Lord Hammond said: \u201cI was Transport Secretary at the time that the project was confirmed by David Cameron\u2019s Government. We did a lot of work studying the options and whether we could de-scope the project in order to reduce costs, and all the conclusions were that it had to go to Manchester and it had to go into Euston.<\/p>\n \u201cAnything else was a false economy that would leave us with a white elephant, and I don\u2019t see anything that has changed since that study.<\/p>\n \u201cThe project was always about capacity. We needed more rail capacity from Manchester to London, and stopping it at Birmingham doesn\u2019t address that problem at all. You save a bit of costs but you destroy many of the benefits of the project.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the other end, we did model the possibility of stopping it at Old Oak Common and it just doesn\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n He said HS2 passengers would be forced to switch to local rail service the Elizabeth Line in order to complete the journey into central London, which would be \u201coverwhelmed\u201d.<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n London Mayor Sadiq Khan has also joined calls for the line to be built in full, saying that scaling it back \u201crisks squandering the huge economic opportunity that it presents and turning it instead into a colossal waste of public money\u201d.<\/p>\n In a letter to the Prime Minister, he warned that failing to build the link to Euston would mean journeys between central London and Birmingham on the \u201chigh speed\u201d line were no faster than existing services.<\/p>\n A budget of \u00a355.7 billion for the whole of HS2 was set in 2015 but some reports suggest the bill is now set to exceed \u00a3100 billion.<\/p>\n Downing Street and the Treasury have not denied reports they are considering axing elements of the project, and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt warned last week that costs are \u201cgetting totally out of control\u201d<\/p>\n It prompted a fight-back from supporters of the project, with Mr Johnson insisting: \u201cThis is total Treasury-driven nonsense. It makes no sense at all to deliver a mutilated HS2.\u201d<\/p>\n Sources close to Mr Cameron told the Times he had privately raised concerns about scaling back HS2, the biggest infrastructure project of his premiership.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/139\/590x\/secondary\/4975563.jpg?r=1695555938098\")
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HS2 Northern beset by spiralling costs and delays could be axed[POLITICS] <\/strong>
HS2 phase two ‘could be axed with Sunak and Hunt in talks over cost'[POLITICS] <\/strong>
Red tape and nimbyism blamed as vital projects ‘cost 850% more in UK than EU'[POLITICS] <\/strong><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/139\/590x\/secondary\/4975561.jpg?r=1695555938159\")
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