UPDATED VERSION: 12.00
THE new transport secretary Chris Grayling has told an audience in the East Midlands that the case for HS2 remains, and that he will not be ‘backing away from it’.
He was addressing business leaders and local politicians in Derby in his first public appearance since he succeeded Patrick McLoughlin in last week’s cabinet reshuffle.
He told the promoters of the Midlands Connect strategy that the Midlands region was ‘absolutely at the top of our agenda’ and that the Midland Main Line would be electrified north of Bedford as far as Kettering and Corby by 2019.
Opponents of HS2 have already called on Mr Grayling to reconsider the scheme, but he said: “Transport is about making life better, but we are still catching up with the demand. Four out of the five major railfreight routes run through the Midlands.
“One of the first things I did in my role was to confirm that there are absolutely no plans to back away from the HS2 project. It’s an essential part of our blueprint for an effective transport system for Britain, and I am pleased at the recognition and support HS2 has received across the region. HS2 is not simply about passengers and speed – it’s about freight, because actually it will help us to get freight off the roads and on to the railways, because the capacity we will free on the other lines will give us a real opportunity to enhance local services for passengers and also railfreight.
”What we need to do is to make sure that HS2 is really joined up with the network, and that it works together with our road system, so the HS2 team are working with Highways England.
"There are still people out there who are doubters, people who don't want it, people who think it's a white elephant. They are wrong. It is absolutely vital to the future of our transport system."
The new transport secretary is also facing a more immediate challenge – the continuing dispute over the extension of driver-only operation on Southern and the currently low levels of performance on Govia Thameslink Railway.
His newly-appointed rail minister Paul Maynard has said the government could step in to encourage fresh talks to take place between the RMT and GTR over its controversial plans to convert most of the remaining conductor-operated trains on Southern – around six out of ten – to driver operation, when drivers take control of opening and closing the doors.