HS2 and UCR 2016

Not a good week for HS2.

The Guido Fawkes website is running a number of articles on the project; suggesting that a crisis board meeting is being held today and calling into question the use of 17 PR agencies.

Meanwhile, UK companies looking to supply into the new railway are getting increasingly frustrated by HS2’s apparent insistence on strict adherence to the Utility Contracts Regulations 2016.

The UK rolling stock supply chain, having been burnt by previous government procurement exercises for both Thameslink and the IEP, is calling for UK content to be a contractual requirement for the new HS2 fleet.

HS2 remains adamant that under the EU mandated Utility Contracts Regulations this cannot happen.

If Chris Grayling is serious about securing a post Brexit Bounce for Britain's rail supply chain then a more flexible approach to HS2 procurement, that favours UK suppliers, must be mandated.

Otherwise the project's multi-billion pound spend risks disappearing off-shore.