Understand Folgen

The new government is trying to get a grip of HS2, with yet another reset. Kate challenges the new minister, Lord Hendy, on the project’s future and also considers the legacy of HS2. Will Britain ever attempt something like it again? And will its image transform again once trains are actually, finally running?Presenter: Kate Lamble Producer: Robert Nicholson Executive Producer: Will Yates Sound Design and Mix: Arlie Adlington A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

Kate meets Andrew McNaughton, the man who, in 2009, was given the task of sitting down with a blank piece of paper and designing a new high speed rail line. Ministers across the political aisle were aware of the desperate need for a capacity boost on the creaking West Coast Mainline; and looking for a jolt of optimism in the wake of the financial crash. It was the first new line north of London in over 70 years, and Andrew was venturing out into uncharted territory; he set out to design a futureproof, ambitious solution that would be the envy of the world. Presenter: Kate Lamble Producer: Robert Nicholson Executive Producer: Will Yates Sound Design and Mix: Arlie Adlington A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

As the designs for HS2 took shape, the new team behind it set out to prove its value to Ministers and MPs. But as Kate hears, long term flaws were being baked into the project, with an economic justification that centred on outdated assumptions. And, as the designers sought to make the justification, they adjusted the design - making it more expensive. The focus on speed was exciting - but it also distracted from the line’s real purpose. The initial vision was becoming more muddled by the minute. Presenter: Kate Lamble Producer: Robert Nicholson Executive Producer: Will Yates Sound Design and Mix: Arlie Adlington A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4