{"id":628494,"date":"2023-04-12T18:57:25","date_gmt":"2023-04-12T23:57:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/04\/12\/jacobs-chief-calls-for-better-informed-hs2-decisions\/"},"modified":"2023-04-12T18:57:25","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T23:57:25","slug":"jacobs-chief-calls-for-better-informed-hs2-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/04\/12\/jacobs-chief-calls-for-better-informed-hs2-decisions\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacobs chief calls for better-informed HS2 decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"HS2-Chiltern-tunnel-south-portal-buildings-1024x731.png\" <\/p>\n

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The chief executive of Jacobs, which is playing a key part in the construction of HS2, has suggested that political decisions about the future of the high-speed rail project should be better informed by data and analysis.<\/p>\n

Bob Pragada told the Telegraph<\/em><\/a> that while he was \u201cnot close enough to the inner workings of Parliament, and how those decisions are made\u201d, it appeared that \u201cthe use of data in order to optimise sometimes is happening after the decision, or the debate, the political debate\u201d.<\/p>\n

His comments follow the government\u2019s recent announcement that multiple sections of HS2 will be delayed<\/a>, and the finding that the estimated cost of the planned HS2 station at Euston has almost doubled to \u00a34.8bn<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sir John Armitt, chair of the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), also told the Telegraph<\/em> that reviewing data was \u201cvital\u201d for infrastructure projects but said there was now a need to \u201cget on and deliver\u201d HS2.<\/p>\n

Pragada said that \u201cright now the debate is around [the fact that] these are expensive programmes, and they will have an impact on the UK balance sheet.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do we optimise that? I think what HS2 and others are doing in order to say: \u2018Okay, how do we start to optimise that finite amount of capital in order to get more.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

He suggested that the optimisation process should begin earlier, commenting: \u201cWhat if we were to turn it [around] and get some analysis that can drive the decision-making process? The sizing of that line, the distance of that line, the mechanics of where the stations go, and the frequency of the use and all those types of things \u2013 data can really help with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to Pragada\u2019s comments, Armitt said: \u201cReviewing the latest data on transport trends is vital during the development stage of the project, and can help guide decisions about later enhancements. But you can\u2019t avoid hard decision points at which stage you commit to core elements of a project, to give certainty to contractors, investors and communities affected by schemes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve reached that point with the phases of HS2 from central London to Manchester, and we now just need to get on and deliver it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month, the NIC said the government was \u201cnot delivering fast enough\u201d on its infrastructure goals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Jacobs said: \u201cOur continued collective priority and focus at Jacobs is maintaining positive momentum for the HS2 project.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: \u201cHS2 continues to represent a crucial investment into our national infrastructure, levelling up communities right across our country, providing a net-zero alternative to car travel and domestic flights, increasing capacity on our rail network and training a skilled workforce for the UK\u2019s future construction industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

HS2 Ltd declined to comment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Related articles<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Jonathan Knott<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The chief executive of Jacobs, which is playing a key part in the construction of HS2, has suggested that political decisions about the future of the high-speed rail project should be better informed by data and analysis. Bob Pragada told the Telegraph that while he was \u201cnot close enough to the inner workings of Parliament<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":628495,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71,23869],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-628494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chief","category-jacobs"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=628494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/628495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=628494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=628494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=628494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}