Review launched into HS2

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has launched a review of high-speed rail link HS2 – with a decision on the future of the major infrastructure project set to be made by the end of the year.

The review will consider whether and how the project to connect London, the Midlands and northern England should proceed, looking at costs and benefits.

Reacting to the announcement, Henri Murison, director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, described HS2 as a “vital project.”

And he said that Preston was one of the cities that would benefit from better rail connections under an integrated plan.