Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a decision was taken by HS2 Ltd to instruct contractors EKFB not to formally evaluate and assess alternative proposals for a short-mined tunnel at Wendover on HS2 Phase One; and if so on what date.
EKFB were not instructed, either by the Department for Transport or HS2 Ltd, to formally evaluate the Wendover short-mined tunnel proposal. This decision was made on the basis that significant design work would be required to bring the proposal up to the same design maturity as the consented scheme, and that this was not an effective use of public money. This decision was communicated to David Lidington MP in October 2018.