The government is to stay committed to the £50 billion High Speed 2 rail project says Transport Secretary Chris Grayling.

David Cameron was key to the government scheme of HS2 as well as chancellor George Osborne, but as they have no been replaced by Theresa May and Philip Hammond, uncertainty was felt in a number of policy areas, aside of the Brexit vote in June. Many of those not in favour of HS2 were hopefully that the scheme would feel the brunt of budget cuts. However Chris Grayling the Transport Secretary has confirmed that the construction of HS2 will ho ahead next year as originally planned.

“We need HS2 now more than ever. “We’re facing a rapidly approaching crunch-point. In the last 20 years alone, the number of people travelling on our railways has more than doubled and our rail network is the most intensively used of any in Europe.

“We need HS2 for the capacity it will bring on the routes between London, the West Midlands, Crewe, Leeds and Manchester as well as the space it’ll create elsewhere on our transport network.

“We need it for the boost it will give to our regional and national economies. And we need it for the jobs it will create, and for the way it will link our country together.”

He also added that a decision on the HS2 Phase Two route to Manchester and Leeds will be taken before the end of this year.

In September certain MP's felt that a realistic timetable needed to be put in place as the overall feel of the current timetable of HS2 was over ambitious.

The Public Accounts Committee have said that they are still not convinced that the first phase of the £56bn rail line – linking London and Birmingham – will open at the end of 2026.