(BUTTON) More HS2 This article is more than 3 years old HS2 boss quits before key decision on high-speed rail project This article is more than 3 years old -- Simon Kirby [ ] Simon Kirby, who reportedly earned £750,000 a year at HS2, is going to Rolls-Royce. Photograph: Network Rail/PA The boss of HS2, the company behind the UK’s planned £55bn high-speed rail network, has announced he is leaving just weeks before the transport secretary is expected to make a key decision on the -- officer at the engineering firm Rolls-Royce. Anti-HS2 campaigners accused Kirby of “getting out before the true scale of the mess he has presided over is realised”. -- from the West Midlands to Leeds and Manchester, this autumn. In June, the National Audit Office said HS2 could be delayed by a year, with the 2026 target date for opening phase one between London and the West Midlands being “at risk”. Birmingham and Fazeley viaduct, part of the proposed route for the HS2 network. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Birmingham and Fazeley viaduct, part of the proposed route for the HS2 network. Photograph: HS2/PA The Stop HS2 campaign manager, Joe Rukin, said the project was beset by major problems and Kirby could not justify his salary. “The departure of Simon Kirby will be a serious blow to those who champion HS2, though many of us are at a complete loss to see just exactly what it is he has done to justify his three-quarters of a million pay packet.” Kirby, who joined HS2 in May 2014 from the board of Network Rail, said his experience delivering a major project “on time and to budget” would be applied at Rolls-Royce. -- In May, it emerged Britain’s most senior civil servant, Sir Jeremy Heywood, was reviewing HS2 as fears grew that the high-speed railway could not be built within budget in its current form. HS2 is supposed to alleviate the capacity crisis on the railways, which are struggling to cope with the highest number of passengers since the 1920s. The economic benefits of getting business travellers between -- nearly £10bn in 2013 and recently a £5bn rise to reflect inflation. The HS2 chairman, Sir David Higgins, said the company would miss Kirby. “Whilst naturally we will miss his experience and leadership, I also recognise that he is joining a truly great, global company in an -- Topics * HS2 * Rail transport -- * HS1 owners consider sale after receiving offers Deal by Canada’s Borealis and Ontario Teachers is unlikely to affect day-to-day services on the high-speed line Published: 8 Dec 2016 HS1 owners consider sale after receiving offers * -- * Southern rail owner's chief operating officer lands HS1 top job Dyan Crowther to leave Govia and become CEO of high-speed link between London and start of Channel tunnel in Kent Published: 26 Sep 2016 Southern rail owner's chief operating officer lands HS1 top job * -- + HS2: the zombie train that refuses to die Published: 7 Jun 2016 HS2: the zombie train that refuses to die + -- (BUTTON) Close [p?c1=2&c2=6035250&cv=2.0&cj=1&comscorekw=HS2%2CRail+transport%2CTransp ort+policy%2CPolitics%2CTransport%2CUK+news%2CRail+industry]