Can HS2 win hearts and minds?

Old Oak Common Station in West London

So HS2 officially hits the green button today with work officially starting on site. Obviously, the project has been running for year in terms of design, enabling works, demolition etc. But today heralds the start of a new phase actual construction. The project is expected to create 22000 jobs.

It’s another welcome boost for the consultants, main contractors, their supply chains and the construction industry at large which is facing choppy times with the onset of Covid 19 and our current recession.

In February, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave HS2 another green light following yet another review. He responded to detractors of the scheme that he had to “have the guts to take the big decisions to deliver prosperity”. It would have been a very major U turn for him to have canned the whole thing particularly with £9bn already spent and 2000 people up and down the country currently working on it. Plus, the enabling works has already seen many properties and pieces of land already purchased and huge swathes of buildings already demolished. He has openly shared his absolute disdain for HS2 Limited running the project and he continued in this vein with his speech.

To be honest the biggest issue with HS2 is the publics’ view of it. The media is full of stories of spiralling costs, the saving of 17 minutes on the journey between London and Birmingham – a message that the project has just not been able to shake. And many stories of environmental destruction and personal stories of homes being compulsory purchased resulting in real people losing their homes.   

From a marketing communications perspective here are some of the biggest challenges that I think the HS2 leadership team (be they in HS2 Limited or in the new ministerial led approach outlined by the Prime Minister today) need to tackle.  It’s not going to be easy to win back the hearts and minds of the general public but some of these things should help:

Get the HS2 key messages right

The previous key messages for HS2 about saving 17 mins between London and Birmingham at a cost of £50bn never resonated with the public. Watching Newsnight last night, reading some of the latest news reports and the Prime Minister’s speech today it's clear the projects key message agenda has shifted to things the public actually care about. 

-       Focusing on the regions and the Prime Minister name checked quite a few places in his speech

-       Getting a more balanced economy between the North and the South

-       Investing in connectivity across the regions forming the Northern Powerhouse.

Connectivity

Boris Johnson in his speech today gave a lot of air time to the Northern Powerhouse and the Northern Rail Project to connect Liverpool to Manchester which is at very early stages of design development.  The main emphasis in terms of connectivity is the Government moving now to concurrently pushing the regional connectivity agenda alongside the North-South HS2 route. Regional connectivity has plagued many traditional Labour towns up North and in a way held back potential prosperity.

It’s all about capacity

If you’ve ever been stuck on a fast train being held up by a slow train travelling on the same line in front, then you’ve then experienced one of the biggest issues of our current infrastructure system. It’s at capacity. Our infrastructure corridor, the space that we have to run trains, is full. So, we just don't have the capacity to run anymore fast and slow services on our existing infrastructure.  

HS2 will have very fast trains and therefore will need its own dedicated lines to make the most of their full capabilities. HS2 will also free up current infrastructure for regional routes to introduce more services to again help to relieve more of the bottlenecks at our major rail interfaces.

Figure out the green sustainability narrative

At the moment the benefits of HS2 are not being heard. When it comes to major projects and programmes yes there will be many things that will be lost to make way for them. But the positive effects of the major programmes should also be identified and shared. This should include work being done to overcome environmental challenges, job creation particularly for local young people surrounding the line in schemes such as apprentices and also as the project comes to construction and the resulting legacy. The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford is a brilliant example of what major programmes and regeneration can do and the actual park itself is great place to visit even though lots of people still don’t actually know it exists.

Explain more about numbers

Over the 10 years of the scheme HS2 has had many, many project costs bandied around  £32bn – £56bn – £88bn – £106bn.  As someone who has worked in the construction sector there are many instances when major schemes are under quoted in order to seek approval or in this case Royal Assent.  

For example, sometimes this even goes all the way up to ministerial level where they’re chasing a certain figure regardless of how realistic it actually is.  A large part of this is due to the minister who has the final sign off has a figure in place and goes with that number instead of a more realistic option.

At the moment it's one big lump. We need to find ways of articulating and breaking down the numbers that make up the costs and the mammoth size of the major programme of works being undertaken with HS2.

Articulate what’s involved in constructing a new major high speed railway

I’m a big fan of storytelling and how the story of how HS2 will be built really needs to be told in a way that engages and connects with the public at large.  We need to find the positive people stories and impact that HS2 will have on regenerating places and people’s lives as well as the economy as a whole across the country and not just London. HS2 is a mammoth programme. And as with all construction projects there will always be an element of unknowns.

We've factored in the costs that others don’t

When it comes to pricing high speed rail projects, most countries don’t factor in the cost of rolling stock and in the case of HS2 we have done and grouped it in with the overall construction  So when we compare our project spend to other European high speed rail projects we are therefore not comparing like with like.  Plus, we’ve also made a large allowance for contingencies and the way that we’ve set up the contracts for contractors to carry a lot of the project risk also inflates the overall cost. This last point is something that Boris Johnson said in his speech that he would look at.  

To win back the general public to support HS2 there will need to be an overhaul of how the project and the delivery teams communicate to show the value and outcomes that it brings in a way that resonates with ordinary people. Using some of the suggestions above would be a good start.

Thanks so much for reading this blog. Having worked in built environment marketing for almost 20 years and being an infrastructure geek who has worked on some of the major projects and programmes that have been delivered in the UK means I tend to have something to say on most things! I’d love to hear more about your thoughts on HS2 and what can be done to reposition this major programme. Also, do get in touch if you’re in the market for a freelance marketing consultant who knows all about the business of construction marketing and engineering.