The High Speed Rail (Preparation) Act 2013 (c. 31) is an act of Parliament in the United Kingdom which allows expenditure on essential preparatory work, including construction design, on Phase One and Phase Two of HS2 and all future phases of a high speed rail network. The act was the first stage in constructing High Speed 2.
The hybrid bill enabling Phase One of the project received royal assent on 3 February 2017.
The act allows for the funding of the preparatory work needed before construction of HS2 began. This included ecological surveys and ground investigations.
The legislation was criticised by Labour Party MP Frank Dobson due to the impact HS2 would have on his constituency: Holborn and St Pancras. The Labour Party frontbench supported the legislation.