Latest news with #JamesStewart
Forbes
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
A New Thriller: Visconti's Hitchcock Vertigo Pen Collection
Actors James Stewart as Detective John 'Scottie' Ferguson and Kim Novak as Madeleine Elster in a ... More publicity still for the film 'Vertigo', directed by Alfred Hitchcock, 1958. This year marks the 67th anniversary of Alfred Hitchcock's acclaimed film Vertigo, which some say is one of the best movies of all time and certainly one of the English film director's masterworks. And this anniversary year ushers in some exciting celebrations honoring the psychological thriller and its stars, including James Stewart and Kim Novak, among other well-known actors of that era. Next up is the Vertigo67: Fourth International Film Conference, which will be held at Trinity College Dublin. Slated for August 13 – 15, the event will include presentations by international scholars and artists, and a special screening of the movie will take place at the Lighthouse Cinema. Visconti Pens As Objects of Creativity Visconti Hitchcock Vertigo fountain pen. While pens are often considered tools of the imagination, it's not surprising to me that one of this year's Vertigo-inspired nods is a new pen collection from Italian pen maker Visconti, which captures the spirit of the film – and its director – in its design. And the Visconti Hitchcock Vertigo references an aspect of the film's groundbreaking collateral: the well-known promotional poster designed by legendary American graphic artist Saul Bass, who also created the enthralling title sequence for the film. The poster features a swirling vortex with Stewart and Novak in silhouette, and its dramatic color scheme is echoed by the pen. Bass's designs helped to revolutionize how movies are marketed and how audiences respond to opening credits. Sotheby's said of the artist's poster, 'Amongst his very best work is the legendary design for Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 film Vertigo, which incorporated a distinctive spiral graphic element to convey a dizzying sense of disorientation.' A poster for Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 psychological thriller, 'Vertigo', starring James Stewart and ... More Kim Novak. An interesting two-tone enamel engraving in black and ivory coils around the vibrant orange resin of the fountain pen and rollerball, recalling the poster's hypnotic motif - a metaphor for the film's mind-bending complexity. The cap is decorated with an engraved and enameled likeness of Hitchhock's bold signature, and the pens are accented with polished palladium metal trim and a white-enamel Visconti finial. The central ring is engraved and enameled with both the Visconti logo and Hitchcock's renowned profile. Here, too, is the emblem of the Alfred Hitchcock Foundation, established to preserve and promote the legacy of the filmmaker and director. There are just 958 pieces in the collection – a tribute to the year in which the movie was released. More Details The Hitchcock Vertigo fountain pen is fitted with a steel nib available in fine, medium and broad sizes; it is filled by cartridge or converter and is priced at $550. The rollerball pen is priced at $525. Both pens have magnetic caps. Viscconti was founded in Florence in 1988 by pen collectors Dante Del Vecchio and Luigi Poli with a goal of creating writing instruments that not only write well, but also explore the outer limits of pen design. The company's evolution has included new principals and new pens, such as the Hitchcock Vertigo, that are an homage to the broader context of creativity. Other limited editions currently available include the iconic Homo Sapiens and the Van Gogh collection, each of which – like the movie – set a new standard.
The Province
a day ago
- Sport
- The Province
Quads of steel: Grouse Grinders compete to complete the most treks in a single day
An average person can complete the Grouse Grind in 1 1/2 to two hours. Even pro athletes — like the Vancouver Canucks — are exhausted after one trip up. James Stewart makes the ascent up the Grouse Grind. He's trying to break his record of 19 trips in a single day during this year's Multi Grind Challenge on Friday. Photo by James Stewart/Instagram His legs were sore, rubbery and dead. His body was still weak from two weeks of illness and a fever that had just dissipated the day before. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors And then, 10 minutes into his 10th trip up the Grouse Grind, James Stewart started hearing voices. There was the tiny, insistent one, telling him to quit, that there was no way he could make another nine ascents in a single day to break the record at the Multi Grouse Grind Challenge. There was the external one, as Stewart chatted amiably with another trail-goer beside the path, after that little voice won out and got him to stop. 'And while I'm chatting to this guy, something in the back of my mind just goes, like, 'James, what the hell are you doing?' ' laughed Stewart. He turned, and completed the climb at a faster-than-planned pace, and got back in the race. A few hours later, Stewart jumped off the tram, scattered some confused tourists and squeaked in just under the 10 p.m. deadline by seconds to start his 19th trip up the Grind — eventually to complete his record-tying 19th ascent of the day. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Stewart and Vancouver's Wilfrid Leblanc are the current record-holders of the Multi-Grouse Grind Challenge, the annual event held on the summer solstice — the year's longest day — both having completed 19. Leblanc won it in 2019; Stewart equalled the record last year. The Grouse Grind is a hike legendary for its views from the top and the lung-busting 30 per cent grade that must be conquered to make it there, 2.9 kilometres from top to bottom. The elevation gain is 853 metres. For context: Mount Everest is 8,850 m. Nineteen trips up the Grind is 55,100 m. And this year, Stewart is gunning for 20. 'That's what I'm aiming for … It would be nice to hold the record outright,' said the Aussie-born endurance athlete who became a Canadian citizen last year. 'I guess I've got a little bit extra to go for. I'm looking forward to the challenge, but it's going to be quite a bit harder to pull it off though.' Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The day isn't getting any longer, and the already-quick pace can't be increased by much, considering the 45-minute average Stewart clocked in at. An average person can complete the Grind in 1 1/2 to two hours. Even pro athletes — like the Vancouver Canucks — are exhausted after one trip up. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. One thing working in his favour, and, ironically, against the racers is the new Blue Grouse Gondola. The red Grouse Mountain Skyride arrives in 10-minute intervals, and Stewart has, umm, groused about missing it by seconds in the past. But the new 27-car tram runs almost non-stop, cutting down on the time it takes to get back down the mountain. That also means less time to rest, rehydrate, refuel and refocus on the trip down. 'By time you get to the top of the climb, your body's gone through quite a bit of stress. Having that 10-minute respite kind of resets the system and allows you get going again,' said Stewart. 'I always find the actual first 10 minutes of every climb is the hardest part, because it's hard to get your body going again once it stops. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I'm just trying to get in a good head space … even though the body's hurting and hanging on. It's a lot of mind over matter; you've just got to stay positive and not get into the pain that you're feeling.' And this is … fun? 'Very much so,' Stewart said, chuckling. 'I'm an endurance coach, so I help train people to do this very thing. It's like the ultimate problem to solve. It helps me maintain a high standard in my overall life because to achieve something like this, you can't cut corners. There's no shortcuts. You have to be prepared to get up every day and train. 'It forces me to get out of bed so I don't sleep in. Forces me to look after my diet. It gives me a challenge, something to work towards. And so there's a lot of problems to solve to succeed in a challenge like this.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The 2025 Grind Challenge, the ninth time it's been run, goes Friday, with 66 men and 34 women competing, with ages ranging from 17 to 66. The first racers take off at 4 a.m. The event is part of the mountain's race series, including the Seek the Peak and the Grouse Grind Mountain Run, and also serves as a fundraiser for the North Shore Rescue service. More than $100,000 has been raised so far this year. Racer Ross Hamilton has competed in the Multi Grind in 2023 and 2024, his personal record being 17 last year. He won't be getting close to that mark this year, after suffering a fall on the East Lion last September that left him with a brain contusion, concussion, two broken neck bones, a broken nose and broken ribs, and needing to be airlifted off the mountain by NSR. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I am just thankful that I will be able to complete one Grind let alone multiple,' he wrote. 'I now have first-hand experience of how tirelessly these volunteers work to keep our mountains safe, and I am very thankful and appreciative that they were there for me when I needed them the most.' Damien Waugh is a volunteer with NSR, and has a PB of 18 Grinds. He's gunning for 20 as well, and has raised close to $6,000 this year alone. 'NSR doesn't charge for rescues. That means we rely on donations to cover essential costs like rescue gear, safety equipment, training and advanced technology,' he wrote. 'If you have ever recreated (sic) in the North Shore mountains — or just love knowing help is out there if someone needs it — we would be very grateful for your support.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Stewart, an endurance racer who has competed all over the world, came to Vancouver in 2015 to check out the Grind after hearing about it. He fell in love with the hike, the city, and, ultimately, a girl, and never left. '(This trail) is almost as unique as it gets in the world. So just to have something like this with a steep trail, with a resort system right there, and this popular, I don't know any other place that has it. So we're very fortunate to have that, and it's one of the reasons why I moved here.' To those attempting the climb, here's his advice: • The No. 1 thing is: don't push too hard. At the one-quarter mark, there's a sign on the trail that says, 'At this point, downhill hiking is no longer allowed if you go any further.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'So if you're feeling tired or you don't have enough food, this is the point where you can turn around and go back down. A lot of people get to that sign and they're already done.' • If you have a heart rate monitor, you keep your heart rate no higher than 130 to 140 beats per minute. • If you're hearing your breath getting out of control, then you're probably going too fast. Slow your pace. • Don't care about how long it takes you. Take as many breaks as you feel like, there's nothing to be ashamed of of sitting, there's a few spots along the trail where you can sit down and cheer on the people that go past. You don't have to do it perfectly your first time. Just go there for the experience. • Bring food and water because you're going to need it. Read More
Vancouver Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- Vancouver Sun
Quads of steel: Grouse Grinders compete to complete the most treks in a single day
His legs were sore, rubbery and dead. His body was still weak from two weeks of illness and a fever that had just dissipated the day before. And then, 10 minutes into his 10th trip up the Grouse Grind, James Stewart started hearing voices. There was the tiny, insistent one, telling him to quit, that there was no way he could make another nine ascents in a single day to break the record at the Multi Grouse Grind Challenge. There was the external one, as Stewart chatted amiably with another trail-goer beside the path, after that little voice won out and got him to stop. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'And while I'm chatting to this guy, something in the back of my mind just goes, like, 'James, what the hell are you doing?' ' laughed Stewart. He turned, and completed the climb at a faster-than-planned pace, and got back in the race. A few hours later, Stewart jumped off the tram, scattered some confused tourists and squeaked in just under the 10 p.m. deadline by seconds to start his 19th trip up the Grind — eventually to complete his record-tying 19th ascent of the day. Stewart and Vancouver's Wilfrid Leblanc are the current record-holders of the Multi-Grouse Grind Challenge, the annual event held on the summer solstice — the year's longest day — both having completed 19. Leblanc won it in 2019; Stewart equalled the record last year. The Grouse Grind is a hike legendary for its views from the top and the lung-busting 30 per cent grade that must be conquered to make it there, 2.9 kilometres from top to bottom. The elevation gain is 853 metres. For context: Mount Everest is 8,850 m. Nineteen trips up the Grind is 55,100 m. And this year, Stewart is gunning for 20. 'That's what I'm aiming for … It would be nice to hold the record outright,' said the Aussie-born endurance athlete who became a Canadian citizen last year. 'I guess I've got a little bit extra to go for. I'm looking forward to the challenge, but it's going to be quite a bit harder to pull it off though.' The day isn't getting any longer, and the already-quick pace can't be increased by much, considering the 45-minute average Stewart clocked in at. An average person can complete the Grind in 1 1/2 to two hours. Even pro athletes — like the Vancouver Canucks — are exhausted after one trip up. One thing working in his favour, and, ironically, against the racers is the new Blue Grouse Gondola. The red Grouse Mountain Skyride arrives in 10-minute intervals, and Stewart has, umm, groused about missing it by seconds in the past. But the new 27-car tram runs almost non-stop, cutting down on the time it takes to get back down the mountain. That also means less time to rest, rehydrate, refuel and refocus on the trip down. 'By time you get to the top of the climb, your body's gone through quite a bit of stress. Having that 10-minute respite kind of resets the system and allows you get going again,' said Stewart. 'I always find the actual first 10 minutes of every climb is the hardest part, because it's hard to get your body going again once it stops. 'I'm just trying to get in a good head space … even though the body's hurting and hanging on. It's a lot of mind over matter; you've just got to stay positive and not get into the pain that you're feeling.' And this is … fun? 'Very much so,' Stewart said, chuckling. 'I'm an endurance coach, so I help train people to do this very thing. It's like the ultimate problem to solve. It helps me maintain a high standard in my overall life because to achieve something like this, you can't cut corners. There's no shortcuts. You have to be prepared to get up every day and train. 'It forces me to get out of bed so I don't sleep in. Forces me to look after my diet. It gives me a challenge, something to work towards. And so there's a lot of problems to solve to succeed in a challenge like this.' The 2025 Grind Challenge, the ninth time it's been run, goes Friday, with 66 men and 34 women competing, with ages ranging from 17 to 66. The first racers take off at 4 a.m. The event is part of the mountain's race series, including the Seek the Peak and the Grouse Grind Mountain Run, and also serves as a fundraiser for the North Shore Rescue service. More than $100,000 has been raised so far this year. Racer Ross Hamilton has competed in the Multi Grind in 2023 and 2024, his personal record being 17 last year. He won't be getting close to that mark this year, after suffering a fall on the East Lion last September that left him with a brain contusion, concussion, two broken neck bones, a broken nose and broken ribs, and needing to be airlifted off the mountain by NSR. 'I am just thankful that I will be able to complete one Grind let alone multiple,' he wrote. 'I now have first-hand experience of how tirelessly these volunteers work to keep our mountains safe, and I am very thankful and appreciative that they were there for me when I needed them the most.' Damien Waugh is a volunteer with NSR, and has a PB of 18 Grinds. He's gunning for 20 as well, and has raised close to $6,000 this year alone. 'NSR doesn't charge for rescues. That means we rely on donations to cover essential costs like rescue gear, safety equipment, training and advanced technology,' he wrote. 'If you have ever recreated (sic) in the North Shore mountains — or just love knowing help is out there if someone needs it — we would be very grateful for your support.' A post shared by James Stewart (@couchtothesummit) Stewart, an endurance racer who has competed all over the world, came to Vancouver in 2015 to check out the Grind after hearing about it. He fell in love with the hike, the city, and, ultimately, a girl, and never left. '(This trail) is almost as unique as it gets in the world. So just to have something like this with a steep trail, with a resort system right there, and this popular, I don't know any other place that has it. So we're very fortunate to have that, and it's one of the reasons why I moved here.' To those attempting the climb, here's his advice: • The No. 1 thing is: don't push too hard. At the one-quarter mark, there's a sign on the trail that says, 'At this point, downhill hiking is no longer allowed if you go any further.' 'So if you're feeling tired or you don't have enough food, this is the point where you can turn around and go back down. A lot of people get to that sign and they're already done.' • If you have a heart rate monitor, you keep your heart rate no higher than 130 to 140 beats per minute. • If you're hearing your breath getting out of control, then you're probably going too fast. Slow your pace. • Don't care about how long it takes you. Take as many breaks as you feel like, there's nothing to be ashamed of of sitting, there's a few spots along the trail where you can sit down and cheer on the people that go past. You don't have to do it perfectly your first time. Just go there for the experience. • Bring food and water because you're going to need it.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
ROSS CLARK: The farce of HS2 shows how Whitehall has allowed waste and fraud to flourish on an industrial scale
Year by year, the tale of HS2 grows more wretched. The latest report on the fiasco, by James Stewart, former chief executive of Crossrail, depicts contractors behaving like a gang that tarmacs driveways taking advantage of an octogenarian widow. Endless wheezes have been devised to drive up costs, with HS2 Ltd – the government-owned company set up to handle the project – seemingly too gullible to prevent itself from being ripped off. Some of what has gone on, according to the report, may constitute outright fraud. Contracts were signed off even before aspects of the design were decided upon, effectively giving expensive additions a blank cheque. An elaborate remodelling of Euston station was abandoned, but not before £250 million was blown on design work. It beggars belief not that a firm charged £20,000 to make a model station out of Lego, but that HS2 paid it. In all, costs have been inflated by an astonishing £37 billion since 2012. To put that into context, Rachel Reeves ' eye-watering tax rises in last October's budget were supposed to raise an extra £40 billion. The culture at HS2 is prodigal and woe betide any miser who tries to spoil the party. When risk assessor Stephen Cresswell raised concerns that the ballooning HS2 bill was 'actively misrepresented', he was soon shown the door in 2022. He took the firm to an employment tribunal and was this month awarded £319,000 compensation. His condemnation afterwards was withering: 'HS2 is not an organisation that should be trusted with public money.' And yet, we give it more public money. While the official estimate for its final cost is between £45 billion and £54 billion, many fear it will cost more than £100 billion. One of the many ways in which the project was misconceived from the start was that it was needlessly designed to be the fastest train service in the world, even though all the cities it connected were less than 200 miles apart. Consequently, far more earthworks were required and far more properties had to be demolished than if the line was built for a lower speed. Even at its original estimate, HS2 was going to cost, per mile, multiples of what the high-speed line from Paris to Strasbourg – its first phase was completed in 2007 – cost. It is bizarre that then-prime minister David Cameron and chancellor George Osborne waved through HS2 as a fully taxpayer-funded project in 2012 at the same time they were taking a scythe to public services to try to close Gordon Brown's gargantuan spending deficit. In their hubris, they imagined that Whitehall would make a better fist of HS2 than was made of HS1 – the line from London St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel – which was built with private money and sailed over its budget by around 20 per cent. An HS2 worker stands in front of tunnel boring machine Karen at the Old Oak Common station box site during preparations for completing the 4.5 mile HS2 tunnelling to London Euston How could they have not noticed the lousy record of cost control in almost everything run by the state? Time and time again, we find ourselves paying through the nose for things that other countries seem able to build for far less. Just look at the Stonehenge tunnel, a billion-pound project that has been 30 years in the making but was cancelled last year because of its mushrooming costs. And the less said about a third runway at Heathrow, the better. While other countries build things, we spend billions talking about it, holding endless inquiries, backtracking and redesigning the whole thing. We are about to go through the whole tortuous process again with the construction of Sizewell C. Like HS2, the Suffolk nuclear power plant follows a similar private sector project – in this case, the Hinkley C station in Somerset, which has itself been delayed and overrun its budget. Even by nuclear reactor standards, its design is complex, as the same plants in Finland and Normandy have proved with 14-year and 12-year delays, respectively. It's little wonder that the private sector judged Sizewell to be too risky, but that has not stopped the Government ploughing taxpayer money into the scheme in the deluded belief that, yet again, the public sector will manage it better. Don't believe it. Private enterprise doesn't always manage things well, but at least it has a strong incentive to keep a lid on costs and avoid extravagance. Let spending spiral out of control and you can crash your company – taking your bonus and pension with it. In the public sector, on the other hand, you just run off to the Treasury with a begging bowl, assured that the Government has invested so much of its political capital in it that it won't be brave enough to pull the plug. That is what has happened with HS2. Contractors know that ministers are desperate to get the project over the line, and behave accordingly. We are never going to solve the problem of infrastructure unless we first tackle the culture of the public sector. Public officials need proper incentives and penalties pegged to performance, and have it drummed into them that they are spending our money, not a bottomless pit of funds. Yet introducing a dash of private-sector dynamism into Whitehall is anathema to this Labour administration more concerned with union demands that civil servants continue to run the country from their sofas. Rachel Reeves sees spending on infrastructure as key to future growth, but with more projects on the horizon – such as building small modular nuclear reactors and updating the National Grid – there's little hope that these won't become very expensive millstones around the taxpayer's neck.
ITV News
2 days ago
- Business
- ITV News
Five ways HS2 has wasted money as government announces further delays
It will be at least another ten years until we will be able to catch an HS2 train from Birmingham to London, with the line now not expected to be complete until 2035 - and coming in billions of pounds over budget. More than 44 miles of tunnels have now been completed, with research estimating the project could create 30,000 new jobs in the West Midlands. HS2 was originally due to run between London and Birmingham, then onto Manchester and Leeds, but the project has been severely curtailed by spiralling costs, despite being scaled back. In Parliament on Wednesday, 18 June, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said there is 'no reasonable way to deliver' the high-speed railway on schedule and within budget. She said she will accept all recommendations from a review by James Stewart into how HS2 has been managed up until now. In a statement to Parliament, the Secretary of State condemned the 'litany of failure' of HS2, citing spiralling costs, ineffective oversight and broken promises. The review states: "There is no single explanation for the failings of the HS2 Programme. "External disruptors (Brexit, the war in Ukraine, Covid-19 and a high inflationary period) have undoubtedly had an impact, but fundamentally a combination of the Government, DfT as Sponsor and Shareholder, HS2 Ltd as the delivery entity, and the private sector supply chain have failed to be able to deliver a project of the original scale and size of HS2." So, what are some of the main failings of the project? Here at ITV News Central we have pulled together a list. 1. Cancelled Phase 2 The original route was set to run from London to Birmingham, with two separate legs running from the Midlands to Leeds,and Manchester. Due to soaring costs, in 2021, Boris Johnson announced the scrapping of the Leeds leg, with Rishi Sunak cancelling the leg to Manchester in 2023. The cost of scrapping phase 2 works is estimated at around £2bn. 2. Delayed completion of Phase 1 As the opening of Phase 1 to Birmingham is pushed back further and further, costs continue to soar. The review highlights that without action; "Phase 1 alone risks becoming one of the most expensive railway lines in the world - with costs ballooning by £37 billion". When the project was first drawn up in 2009, the estimated cost for the entire project, including Phase 1 and 2, was £37.5bn. The most recent figures estimate it will cost between £49bn and £56.6bn, despite the second phase being cancelled. 3. Contractors The review states that; " HS2 Ltd has lacked the capability to deal with the size and complexity of the HS2 Programme." It goes on to say that the model chosen for the project was wrong, but there was a "failure to change course when problems arose." Extra costs are also down to problems with some of the building work. In November last year, issued were found on some of the bridges built on the line between London and Birmingham. Steel firm Severfield identified welding problems on a number of its structures, including nine bridges on the HS2 line, with repair work costing more than £20m to fix. At the time, HS2 said: 'We have identified a number of welding defects related to steel fabrication work undertaken by one of our suppliers. 'This will not impact on the safety or quality of the operational railway which is being designed to the highest standards.' In total more than 500 bridges are being built along the route from London to Curzon Street in Birmingham. 4. Desire to build the best HS2 was a project sold on speed. The promise was trains travelling between London and Birmingham at speeds of up to 225mph. This meant a straight line was required to be built between the two cities to ensure speed of trains. The route was to go through the Chilterns AONB, with extensive tunnels required to keep trains out of sight and ensure the natural area was protected. The scope of the plans kept changing, driving up costs. Pressure from protestors and constituents left MPs voting to increase the tunnel length through the Chilterns, in turn costing more money. The review found many key decisions have been driven by schedule rather than cost, stating: "Pressure from politicians to maintain momentum, fear of HS2 being cancelled, and the belief that costs will increase as a result of delay have featured strongly." 5. Pace of decision making Since it was initially approved in 2012, the HS2 project has been through Brexit, a global pandemic and seven different Prime Ministers. The James Stewart review highlights the pace of decision making as one of the main disruptors for the project, with no buffer in place for politics. It says: "Any project of this size and scale delivered across multiple decades is going to be impacted by politics. "When I looked at comparator projects – Tideway, Sizewell C, even Crossrail – there was a buffer to the politics, either with external shareholders, regulators or joint sponsors. "The HS2 Programme has had no such buffers and has been subject to evolving political aims, which pushed forward on the schedule before there was sufficient design maturity and caused progressive removals of scope." The review found trust between stakeholders needs to be restored as the project moves forward. It says: "The significant and consistent cost overruns that have been a feature of the project have undermined trust in HS2." Following the publishing of the review, the Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, said: "This must be a line in the sand. This government is delivering HS2 from Birmingham to London after years of mismanagement, flawed reporting and ineffective oversight. "Mark Wild and Mike Brown were part of the team, with me, that turned Crossrail into the Elizabeth Line – we have done it before, we will do it again. "Passengers and taxpayers deserve new railways the country can be proud of and the work to get HS2 back on track is firmly underway. " The Transport Secretary confirmed Mike Brown will be taking over as HS2 Ltd Chair, working alongside CEO Mark Wild to deliver a programme reset, including reviewing the costs and schedule, renegotiating HS2's large construction contracts, and reviewing HS2 Ltd's skills and structure. The Transport Secretary has asked Mark Wild to be ready to provide an update on revised costs and delivery timescales at the end of the year.
