The government has confirmed it is still committed to building a high speed rail link between London and the north of England.
Transport secretary Chris Grayling has said the country needs HS2 “more than ever” and construction will start early next year despite protests from MPs and the public.
He has also committed £70 million to support local communities affected by the link.
Grayling told a HS2 conference: "We're not backing away from HS2. The case is as strong as ever.
"We need this railway. And if we're going to build it, let's make it state-of-the-art, fit for the decades of growth ahead.
"So that in 2033, we no longer have a rail network with a Victorian heart but a network with an Elizabethan heart, able to deliver everything we expect of a 21st century transport system."
The project suffered a setback last month when its boss Simon Kirby quit to join Rolls Royce.
Phase one of the controversial scheme is expected to be completed by around 2026. It will cut through Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire and reduce journey times between London and Birmingham by 32 minutes.
A second Y-shaped phase, taking the line to north-east and north-west England and beyond, is due to be completed by around 2032/33.
Grayling added: “We need HS2 now more than ever. We need it for the capacity it will bring on the routes between London, the West Midlands, Crewe, Leeds and Manchester, as well as the space it'll create elsewhere on our transport network.
"We need it for the boost it will give to our regional and national economies.
"And we need it for the jobs it will create, and for the way it will link our country together."