Responding to the National Infrastructure Plan: HS2 as a case study

The Government in its National Infrastructure Plan of November 2011 set out a comprehensive and detailed strategy for coordinating and planning public and private investment in UK infrastructure. It provides investors, builders and operators of infrastructure with the transparency and commitment which they lacked for a decade. Its three key strands focus on cross-sectoral coordination, funding and efficiency in delivery. High Speed 2 (HS2), a new national high speed rail network, is included in the Government’s 40 priority infrastructure investments.
The seminar will hear from HS2 Ltd how it is responding to the Government’s strategy. HS2 Ltd is a company wholly owned by the DfT, and are responsible for preparing a hybrid bill to be submitted to Parliament by the end of 2013 for the proposed line between London and the West Midlands. HS2 Ltd is also continuing to develop proposals for the line of route beyond Birmingham. Meanwhile the development of the scheme has a major influence on the strategic planning of the stakeholders as all parties seek to explore the opportunities and minimise the impacts which a new long distance rail system offers. The seminar will hear from the key stakeholders comprising Birmingham City Council, Network Rail and Transport for London of the challenges of integrating a scheme of this magnitude into their strategic planning