Today the Prime Minister confirmed that HS2 would proceed, delivering essential North-South connectivity, greater capacity and shorter journey times, with construction for Phase 1 from London to the West Midlands set to begin in April. First Trenitalia operates West Coast Partnership Development, the 'Shadow Operator' to the HS2 programme, responsible for designing, developing and mobilising high speed service operations.
Steve Montgomery, Managing Director, First Rail said:
“HS2 is all about linking the great cities of Britain with enough rail capacity to cope with ever-increasing passenger numbers. There are no other practical or equivalent ways to add the capacity we need. We’re delighted the Government has made this decision.”
The decision to proceed with HS2 comes alongside a pledge of £5 billion investment in local bus and cycle links, with a five-year funding package to support simpler fares, thousands of new green buses, improved routes and higher frequencies.
Giles Fearnley, Managing Director, First Bus said:
“We are pleased that there is a growing realisation at all levels of government that the bus has a huge role to play in achieving social and environmental ambitions and improving local economies. We are committed to working closely with local and regional governments to tackle congestion, so we can provide bus services which help meet air quality targets and strengthen connectivity. We welcome the announcement today of a significant tranche of funding for regional bus links and look forward to seeing more detail of how this will be delivered in the National Bus Strategy to be published later this year."