HS2 review criticised by deputy chair of panel

Opponents of the HS2 high-speed railway linking London and northern England say the government's review of the project will be dim.

Peer Berkeley, vice chairman of the HS2 Review Panel, said there was no opportunity to affect the final report.

He is a vocal critic of this project.

The government says it is clear that panelists will not have a veto, and it is inappropriate to preempt a review recommendation.

& # 39; Is it locked in bolts? & # 39;

Lord Berkeley also speculated that the publication of the review was suspended until the appointment of the Secretary of State for the General Election and Transportation.

In Tweets "The role of chairman of the Oakervee report on HS2 ended yesterday. The report was not over and there was no opportunity to influence the conclusion.

"When we are finished by Doug O [Oakervee] The DfT Secretariat is locked in the DfT safe for the new S's. [secretary of state] Publish. "

A spokesman for the Department of Transportation told BBC News that the O'Kerby review will end in the fall without confirming when the report will be released.

Sir Berkeley, a civil engineer in charge of the construction of the channel tunnel, was an astonishing promise when the Minister of Transportation, Grant Shapps, began his review in August.

This summer, the system was found to be over budget and behind schedule.

The government has previously claimed that the appointment of a well-known critic of HS2 as the vice-chairman of the review panel is a real movement and all options are being considered.

These options include project retirement, which will cost taxpayers at least £ 88 billion.

But in recent weeks, news related to or near this review, Sir Berkeley, was personally dissatisfied with how the process was handled.

Now he has made public.

Sir Berkeley said in his tweet that his role in the review ended without the opportunity to contribute to the final conclusion.

Opponents of the system argue that this review, which appears to have not been published until the end of this election, will be "white sale."

They have long questioned the independence of the person driving the review, given that he is the former chairman of HS2, the public company that runs the project.

Transport Secretary Grant Sharps said in September that the first phase of the HS2 high-speed rail between London and Birmingham would be delayed by up to five years.

This route segment was scheduled to open at the end of 2026, but now it may be between 2028 and 2031 before the first train runs on the route.

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The total cost of the HS2 has also increased from £ 62 billion and the second phase has also been delayed.

The route from Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds is scheduled to open in 2032-33 but has been pushed back to 2035-2040.

In August, the government said it plans to review the costs and benefits of rail projects with a "go or no-go" decision by the end of the year.

The government said construction would continue while the review was in progress.

Concerns that rising costs and delays can threaten the viability of HS2 are not new. According to a document the BBC saw in the fall, the government and HS2 found that the high-speed rail exceeded its budget and the schedule was behind many years ago.

What is HS2?

HS2 is a new rail line that runs from London to West Midlands, Manchester and Leeds.

The train from London to Birmingham is 400m long (1,300ft) with a maximum of 1,100 seats and can reach speeds of up to 250mph. They run up to 14 times per hour in each direction.

The Department of Transport said the project will reduce the time it takes from Birmingham to London from 1 hour 21 minutes to 52 minutes.

Once the second phase is complete, it will take an hour and seven minutes (2 to 7 minutes) from Manchester to London and 2 to 49 minutes from Birmingham to Leeds.

This effectively reduces the time between London and Edinburgh and between London and Glasgow to an hour and a half.

The government hopes to increase the capacity of crowded commuters.