High-speed Rail Services: West Coast Main Line Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateLord Bellingham
Main Page: Lord Bellingham (Conservative - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Bellingham's debates with the Department for Transport
(2 days, 20 hours ago)
Lords ChamberThe Government are reviewing the position that we have inherited on HS2. The connectivity points that the noble and learned Lord raises are good ones. The proposals for the development of the railway network will indeed have to take those things into account and will look at solving some of the issues that he mentions.
My apologies: I believe that this is a question for the Conservative Benches.
I thank the noble Baroness very much. I declare an interest as a former member of the Select Committee on HS2, which spent nearly two years hearing copious evidence from many different experts. The one underlying recurring theme was the crucial importance of getting the link through to central London and Euston. Without that, we will not be able to solve a capacity issue.
The link to Euston must be considered alongside many other commitments for railway investment, not all of which can be funded in the present financial situation. However, we hope to come back quickly on Euston because it is easy to recognise that it is part of the integral HS2 project.