Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether formal discussions were held between HS2 Ltd and EKFB before the decision was taken not to consider the alternative Wendover short-mined tunnel proposal.

The Wendover short-mined tunnel proposal was considered by the Department, upon receipt of advice from HS2 Ltd and from independent consultants, in both 2017 and 2018. The proposal was not, however, adopted on the basis that it was more difficult to construct, would cost more, would take longer to construct, and would require new powers to be sought. As previously stated, there was the one formal discussion involving HS2 Ltd, EFKB and DfT in April 2019, which related to a further request to reconsider the proposal again.