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The chief executive of the HS2 high-speed rail project has resigned amid cost and political pressure over the delayed project.<\/p>\n
Mark Thurston, 56, announced he will step down in September after six-and-a-half years, making him the state-owned company’s longest-serving chief executive.<\/p>\n
Another leader is needed for the project, Thurston said, as HS2 moved into a “defining period” with the installation of railway tracks and signaling equipment.<\/p>\n
Thurston was paid \u00a3617,300 in the 2021-22 financial year, according to HS2 Ltd’s latest annual report. He also received benefits worth \u00a35,400, it shows.<\/p>\n
Multiple delays have hit HS2. It was originally expected to open in 2026, which was pushed back from 2029 to 2033 due to construction difficulties and rising costs.<\/p>\n
Major building works are currently taking place at over 350 sites as part of the first phase of the construction project, between London and Birmingham.<\/p>\n
Read more: MPs on the Public Accounts Committee last week pressed ministers over the project, saying delays in work at Euston station showed ministers they don’t know what they’re “trying to get”<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Mr Thurston said on Wednesday: “The next 18-24 months will see the project move into an exciting new stage. I have agreed with the board that someone else should lead the organization and the program through what will be another defining period for HS2”.<\/p>\n HS2 delays will cost at least \u00a3266m.<\/span><\/p>\n He was preceded by Simon Kirby, who held the role from 2014 to 2017, and Alison Munro, who held the reins from 2009 to 2014.<\/p>\n With Mr Thurston leaving at the end of September, HS2 Ltd chairman Sir Jon Thompson will become executive chairman on an interim basis while a new chief executive is recruited.<\/p>\n Transport Secretary Mark Harper praised Mr Thurston.<\/p>\n “In addition to successfully overseeing the start of construction, [Mr Thurston] has ensured that HS2 has created tens of thousands of skilled jobs and apprenticeships across the country,\u201d Harper said.<\/p>\n The development of HS2 is a key part of the Government’s ‘level’ agenda, with the aim of improving connectivity between the cities of the Midlands, the North and London.<\/p>\n It had been planned to run north-east from Birmingham to the East Midlands Hub at Toton, where trains would continue on the HS2 line to Leeds, with others diverging on existing lines via Chesterfield and York.<\/p>\n
HS2 explained: What is it and why are parts delayed?<\/strong><\/p>\n
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