The costs of electrifying the full East West Rail route versus partial (discontinuous) electrification will depend on a number of factors including the final scope for the railway’s design and location of overhead line equipment. This is yet to be finalised and will be developed in light of feedback received in the East West Rail Company’s latest public consultation, which closed on 9 June this year.

There are currently no plans to close the Pullman dining service on Great Western Railway’s long-distance services. Department for Transport officials continue to engage closely with the operator to ensure that passenger expectations are met, including through the provision of high-quality catering options.

The Government has tasked the new leadership of HS2 Ltd with undertaking a comprehensive reset to ensure the project is delivered in a controlled way and at the lowest reasonable cost. Bringing in alternative delivery arrangements at this stage in the project would add further delay and cost.

It is the Government's long-term aim to see a full new railway between Birmingham to Manchester. This will not be a revival of HS2 and what will be delivered will be considered by a feasibility study working with local partners.

The Secretary of State for Transport provided an update to the House via her latest Parliamentary report on HS2 on 19 May, covering the progress achieved in resetting the programme in recent months. This includes the government's rationale for continuing with the construction of the programme, discussions with main suppliers to manage contracts in taxpayers' interests, and steps taken to strengthen commercial controls and improve delivery performance. This government put HS2 Ltd under new management, which has tightened spending controls with new specialist roles scrutinizing every payment to contractors and suppliers, and is reviewing contracts to ensure the right incentives are in place to drive delivery.

The Government announced in May 2026, the expected cost of delivering HS2 is now in the range of £87.7 - 102.7 billion. This is expressed in a mixed price base, including the cash outturn of works to date and the costs of future work excluding inflation.

These ranges cover the cost of the whole programme, stretching from London Euston to Birmingham Curzon Street and to the connection to the West Coast Main Line at Handsacre Junction, which will enable HS2 services to continue to the Northwest and Scotland. This includes the cost of HS2 work between Old Oak Common and Handsacre as well as the interchange station at Old Oak Common.

As set out in East West Rail’s Spring 2026 consultation, the Government has committed to the discontinuous electrification of East West Rail, which involves a lower capital cost whilst minimising construction and environmental impacts.

The Government recognises the current legal framework does not provide the certainty businesses need to invest, which is why we have committed to introduce a new Low-speed Zero Emission Vehicle category to regulate micromobility vehicles, including pavement robots, when Parliamentary time allows. This regulation will also be designed to ensure any negative impacts to blind and partially sighted people are mitigated.

The Micromobility Team in the Department for Transport is responsible for pavement robots, and there are currently no staff dedicated to working solely on delivery robot policy, with work on this policy area being conducted as business-as-usual activity by officials with wider responsibilities.

The Government recognises the current legal framework does not provide the certainty businesses need to invest, which is why we have committed to introduce a new Low-speed Zero Emission Vehicle category to regulate micromobility vehicles, including pavement robots, when Parliamentary time allows. This regulation will also be designed to ensure any negative impacts to blind and partially sighted people are mitigated.

The Micromobility Team in the Department for Transport is responsible for pavement robots, and there are currently no staff dedicated to working solely on delivery robot policy, with work on this policy area being conducted as business-as-usual activity by officials with wider responsibilities.

The Government recognises the current legal framework does not provide the certainty businesses need to invest, which is why we have committed to introduce a new Low-speed Zero Emission Vehicle category to regulate micromobility vehicles, including pavement robots, when Parliamentary time allows. This regulation will also be designed to ensure any negative impacts to blind and partially sighted people are mitigated.

The Micromobility Team in the Department for Transport is responsible for pavement robots, and there are currently no staff dedicated to working solely on delivery robot policy, with work on this policy area being conducted as business-as-usual activity by officials with wider responsibilities.

The Government recognises the current legal framework does not provide the certainty businesses need to invest, which is why we have committed to introduce a new Low-speed Zero Emission Vehicle category to regulate micromobility vehicles, including pavement robots, when Parliamentary time allows. This regulation will also be designed to ensure any negative impacts to blind and partially sighted people are mitigated.

The Micromobility Team in the Department for Transport is responsible for pavement robots, and there are currently no staff dedicated to working solely on delivery robot policy, with work on this policy area being conducted as business-as-usual activity by officials with wider responsibilities.

The Government recognises the current legal framework does not provide the certainty businesses need to invest, which is why we have committed to introduce a new Low-speed Zero Emission Vehicle category to regulate micromobility vehicles, including pavement robots, when Parliamentary time allows. This regulation will also be designed to ensure any negative impacts to blind and partially sighted people are mitigated.

The Micromobility Team in the Department for Transport is responsible for pavement robots, and there are currently no staff dedicated to working solely on delivery robot policy, with work on this policy area being conducted as business-as-usual activity by officials with wider responsibilities.

HS2 Ltd continue to support the promotion of the High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill which will be adapted to deliver only the section of route necessary for Northern Powerhouse Rail. No decisions have been taken on the long-term delivery strategy on contracting choices for the Northern Powerhouse Rail programme at this stage.

Our long-term ambition is to improve capacity and connectivity between Birmingham and Manchester with a new rail line. This will not be a reinstatement of HS2 and no decisions have been taken on the exact specification, route or the approach to implementing or contracting the project.

We will learn lessons from the implementation of HS2 to take the time necessary to undertake the development work to underpin these decisions.

This report https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs2-phase-2b-select-committee-crewe-to-manchester-understanding-the-ground-risk-across-the-cheshire-plain was commissioned and published as a comprehensive report into the ground risk north of Crewe across the Cheshire plain.

The Government does not expect to publish any further information.

Aspects of the proposal have been analysed for their technical feasibility and how they would support passengers on HS2 in the long term. The Department is working with industry on potential interventions to further improve journeys for Northwest passengers when high-speed services operate on the West Coast Mainline.

In addition, the Northern Growth Strategy announcement of January 2026 set out the Government’s intention to ultimately deliver a full North-South new line between Birmingham and Manchester. This will enable the Government to safeguard future growth for the long term by ensuring the West Coast Main Line corridor offers sufficient capacity and good connectivity.

The government is taking forward the High Speed Rail (Crewe – Manchester) Bill to deliver the Northern Powerhouse Rail route into Manchester via Manchester Airport. We have not reversed the previous government’s decision to cancel HS2 Phase 2 and will adapt the bill to deliver only the section of route necessary for Northern Powerhouse Rail.

The Government engaged closely with Mayors across the North of England during the development of the Northern Growth Strategy. Compact agreements with each Mayoral Combined Authority show the support for the Programme and the approach and are available online within the Rail Network Correspondence section of the Government's website.

We will continue to work in close collaboration with Mayors and partners across the North throughout the development and delivery of Northern Powerhouse Rail.

The route of the original Phase 2b scheme can be found in the Online Government Collection titled: HS2 Phase 2b: Crewe to Manchester and the West Midlands to Leeds.

The government will adapt the High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill to deliver only the section of route necessary for Northern Powerhouse Rail. Following the Instruction Motion passed in the House of Commons in May 2024, the Bill will be truncated at a point in the vicinity of the Parish of Millington and Rostherne. The Government will set out further details when the Hybrid Bill Select Committee recommences.

The guidance was published in draft in March 2024 but never brought into force. The Government is considering next steps and more information will be made available in due course.

As is longstanding policy, local authorities are best placed to decide what traffic management schemes are appropriate, including low-traffic neighbourhoods, but they should always be developed through engagement with local communities.

HS2 Ltd has extended the deferral of works between Birmingham and Handsacre, in place since spring 2023, to focus efforts on the cost-efficient delivery of the opening stage of HS2 between Old Oak Common and Birmingham Curzon Street. The scope of secondary works on the tunnels include construction activity relating to tunnel vent shafts, headhouses and walkways.

The government is taking forward the High Speed Rail (Crewe – Manchester) Bill to deliver the Northern Powerhouse Rail route into Manchester via Manchester Airport. We have not reversed the previous government’s decision to cancel HS2 Phase 2 and will adapt the bill to deliver only the section of route necessary for Northern Powerhouse Rail.

In light of lessons from HS2, we are carefully developing detailed plans for delivery. However, from our work to date, we expect major construction works for the Liverpool to Manchester section of the route to commence in the mid-2030s and continue into the 2040s.

The Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy (MDS), published in 2025, sets out how we will decarbonise UK maritime transport, including through the inclusion of domestic maritime sector in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) from July this year.

The draft Statutory Instrument on the expansion of the ETS to maritime has now been laid and approved across the UK Parliaments, providing certainty ahead of the expansion in July. Further guidance is available from the Environment Agency.

Given the long lifespan of shipping vessels, action needs to be taken now to meet the goals of the MDS, helping the sector move towards a lower carbon future and contribute to UK net zero obligations.

In recognition of this change, the Government will give maritime operators until the end of the first two scheme years to familiarise themselves with the UK ETS and its digital systems before they must surrender allowances for those years.

Exemptions will apply to ferry services to Scotland’s islands and certain peninsular communities. These are based on the unique and pressing challenges faced by these communities due to exceptional reliance on ferries for essential goods, healthcare, education, and employment, as well as additional legal duties under the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018. We have assessed that these criteria are not met for other UK islands.

The Government will monitor the impacts of the scheme and has committed to review the effectiveness of the scheme, including the exemptions, in 2028.