HS2’s first 558ft-long tunnelling machines have arrived in the UK in more than 1,000 parts. The two contraptions were transported from Germany to a construction site in Hertfordshire near the M25. They will be assembled over the coming months before they start digging the high-speed railway’s Chiltern tunnels in spring next year. To dig the … Read more
Veteran eco-warrior ‘Swampy’ has again returned to campaigning – to sit in a 30 foot tall bamboo tower in the middle of a river to protest against the HS2 rail line. The activist, 47, re-emerged in October this year following a ‘quiet ten years’ out of the limelight. Now Swampy – real name Daniel Hooper … Read more
A HS2 worker has been filmed kneeling on the neck of a protester who was allegedly catapulting carrots into a work site of the high-speed rail scheme. Footage shows the worker with his knee on the neck of the hooded man, whose head is pinned against the floor, during the incident at the site in … Read more
A HS2 worker has been filmed kneeling on the neck of a protester who was allegedly catapulting carrots into a work site of the high-speed rail scheme. Footage shows the worker with his knee on the neck of the hooded man, whose head is pinned against the floor, during the incident at the site in … Read more
Eco-warrior Swampy has denied an aggravated trespass charge over a treetop protest against the HS2 rail line. Swampy, real name Daniel Hooper, is accused of climbing trees and staying in Jones’ Hill Wood in Wendover, near Aylesbury, Bucks, with other protestors for four days. The 47-year-old was pictured camped 30ft up a tree last month … Read more
With all the delays, spiralling costs and protests up and down the country, you might have thought HS2 was going nowhere fast. In fact, as these astonishing pictures reveal, the controversial project has been quietly tearing up swathes of the Buckinghamshire countryside – and is now set to tunnel under the Chilterns. This week two … Read more
HS2 project could cost the taxpayer £170BILLION, claims deputy chairman of official review The Oakervee Review warning the final bill of HS2 could reach £106billion The report’s co-author, Lord Berkeley, now thinks costs could spiral further Cited evidence from expert suggesting costs of first phase could hit £88billion By Tom Payne Transport Correspondent For The … Read more
Leading ecologists warn moving ancient woodland to make way for HS2 is a ‘fundamentally flawed’ idea based on no strong evidence HS2 bosses say they are trying to move ancient woodland soil to a nearby field Ecologist warns it could take ‘hundreds of years’ for nature to recover from move Experts at HS2 accept there’s … Read more
One of Britain’s oldest and largest wild pear trees was chopped down today to make way for the HS2 high-speed rail link. The 250-year-old Cubbington Pear Tree in Warwickshire sits on the phase one line of the route just outside Leamington Spa. It was finally cut down on Tuesday just five years after it was … Read more
Ministers have been told that Phase One of controversial rail line HS2 could cost £800million more than planned. It comes just six months after a budget increase saw total predicted costs for the first stage of the high-speed line soar by £20.6billion to £43billion. In a written statement to Parliament, HS2 Minister Andrew Stephenson said half … Read more