Hello, im rajini vaidyanathan. We start here in the uk. Defence secretary grant shapps said it would be irresponsible to carry on Pumping Money into the h52 high speed rail line if costs had spiralled and there was a perfectly legitimate question about its sequencing. Mr shapps, the uks former transport secretary, told the bbc s Victoria Derbyshire that costs had increased significantly, citing inflation as having been part of that. He stressed that hs2 was not the be all and end all for northern transport projects. On hsz, we do have to respond to the budgets on hsz, we do have to respond to the budgets that have been hit not only by coronavirus but by the war in ukraine by coronavirus but by the war in Ukraine I By Coronavirus but by the war in ukraine. Ithink by coronavirus but by the war in ukraine. I think any responsible government looks at that and says, does this government looks at that and says, does this still stuck up for what the country requires in terms of where the coun
Hello, im rajini vaidyanathan. Its been described as the new High Speed Railway that will form the backbone of britains transport network. But there are now questions over the future of the h52 project which had planned to connect london, the midlands and the north of england. The uk government says it would be crazy not to review the project given soaring costs due to the war in ukraine and a rise in inflation. Defence secretary, and former transport minister grant shapps told the bbc the government would need to make serious decisions on how affordable it is. The hs2 project was originally due to link london with manchester and leeds, via birmingham. There is speculation that the link between birmingham and manchester may be under threat as costs have increased significantly. The line to leeds has already been scrapped. With more, heres our political correspondent, jessica parker. Hsz hs2 is this enormous rail project, and they actually already scrapped a bit of the leg of the line t
But there are now questions over the future of the h52 project which had planned to connect london, the midlands and the north of england. The uk government says it would be crazy not to review the project given soaring costs due to the war in ukraine and a rise in inflation. Defence secretary, and former transport minister grant shapps told the bbc the government would need to make serious decisions on how affordable it is. The hs2 project was originally due to link london with manchester and leeds, via birmingham. There is speculation that the link between birmingham and manchester may be under threat as costs have increased significantly. The line to leeds has already been scrapped. For more, heres our political correspondent, jessica parker. Hs2 is this enormous rail project, and they actually already scrapped a bit of the leg of the line that would run up to leeds in the north of england, in yorkshire, and now there is also lots of Speculation Building that the government will pot
Government ambition, commitment and consistency. A relaxation of 2030 would undermine all three. Here is mike hawes, chief executive of the society of Motor Manufacturers and traders. As you would expect, a great deal of concern. The industry has invested billions in this transition and a lot of it has gone into the uk already, the government has backed that. You have seen them invest in the Tata Battery Factory in somerset, mini production in cowley, Electric Vehicle for commercial Vehicle Production in ellesmere port. So weve got mixed messaging when youre investing in there. If you want to attract and continue that investment, you need a strong market. We want to see what is being said, because at the moment we are getting this mixed message about what is it that the government wants. Ill tell you, if you want to achieve net zero, you have to decarbonise road transport. This morning Home Secretary Suella Braverman backed the Prime Ministerfor making difficult decisions on net zero a