California rail bosses to visit HS2 to see British expertise days after leg axed

06 October 2023 , 15:54

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The American delegation will be given a tour of HS2 construction sites (Image: Vuk Valcic/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)

Tory ministers have invited American rail bosses to visit Britain next week to learn lessons from the botched HS2 project.

Executives from California High Speed Rail will arrive on Wednesday for a two-day trip organised by Kemi Badenoch’s Department for Business and Trade. The jaunt, which is supposed to show off British expertise and best practice, comes just days after Rishi Sunak ditched the HS2 leg to Manchester.

The U.S. delegation will hold one day of talks with Government officials including from the Department for Transport in Whitehall. They will then spend a second day touring HS2 construction sites, including tunnelling works near Birmingham, as well as meeting the team behind Crossrail.

Topics due to be discussed include how best to deliver high speed rail projects including what lessons can be learnt on public communication strategy and costs.

The PM announced at the Tory party conference that he was axing a massive part of HS2 after the scheme had more than doubled in cost. The line, which was originally due to connect Manchester and Leeds with London, will now only run between Birmingham and the capital.

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Critics including Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham have accused the Government of betraying the North. Mr Sunak claimed that changes to HS2 would save £36billion with the cash going to alternative road and rail projects across the country. But many of the schemes are simply re-announcements of projects that have been repeatedly promised by the Tories but never delivered.

California’s high-speed rail line was promised in 2008 and was supposed to more than halve journey times between San Francisco and Los Angeles to below three hours. But it has faced delays and rising costs, with the first 178-mile section expected to open in 2030.

The Department for Business and Trade did not respond to a request for comment.

John Stevens