NEW government transport boss Justine Greening has given HS2 campaigners hope after she said she would make a "rational" decision on whether the project goes ahead.
The secretary of state for transport, who replaced Philip Hammond this month after he was made defence secretary, appeared at the Transport Select Committee on Wednesday (19) to give her first public comments on HS2.
In a change of tone from Mr Hammond's often bullish remarks that HS2 would not be halted by 'nimbys' like those in Hillingdon who could lose their homes and face years of disruption, Ms Greening said she would listen to local views.
"The way I approach this will not be an emotional one. It will be a rational one, taking note of the many local concerns. To my mind, when you look at what high-speed rail has bought to other countries it's impossible not to see the benefits. It's absolutely right to look at HS2.
"I recognise what a big decision this will be and also recognise there are many views on this and I will take great care on how I look at them."
Ruislip Against HS2 chairman Lottie Jones welcomed the comments. She told the Gazette: "I was very glad she didn't have the same resounding 'we are going to do this' attitude that Hammond had. I am cautiously optimistic, I think she might be going into it with an open mind."
Ms Greening has plenty of work to do before deciding whether HS2 should go forward, having not previously worked in the Department for Transport (DfT). Her only previous ministerial role was in the Treasury.
A DfT spokesman said it was still working to the same schedule. "The department's business plan sets out our intention to respond to the consultation on HS2 by the end of the year and that is the date we continue to work towards," he said.
But Ms Greening does have form on transport issues, having campaigned against a third runway at Heathrow in her role as Conservative MP for Putney, which is under the airport's flight path.
