Former HS2 director defends East-line cost

The former technical director of HS2 has defended the speed and cost of HS2 East, stating that the planned route “overcomes the transport deficit these cities have laboured under for so long”.

In a letter published in the Financial Times, Professor McNaughton argued that “HS2 escapes the constraints of the Victorian railway.”

McNaughton added that “no amount of disruptive tinkering with the existing network would match HS2 in enabling economic growth, social equity and 2050 decarbonisation.”

The former chief engineer of Network Rail also said that the railway would be “designed to withstand the next century of climate change.”

MPs recently had their say on whether or not to scrap HS2 in a packed Westminster Hall debate last month.