HS2 could now cost £102.7bn and not fully open until 2043, but the government is committed to delivering the project, the transport secretary announced yesterday.
Heidi Alexander declared an end to an “era of neglect” on the high-speed railway as she set out plans to reset the project, delivering it as quickly as possible and at the lowest reasonable cost.
The transport secretary has convened the team that delivered the Elizabeth Line and set out new costs and timeframes for the project, including efforts to cut construction costs.
The project is now expected to cost between £87.7bn to £102.7bn – £70.9bn to £82.2bn in 2019 prices. Two-thirds of the increase is down to works being missed from the scope of the original project plan, underestimation by previous governments, and inefficient delivery, and the remaining third due to inflation.
The ongoing reset by HS2 CEO Mark Wild has revealed it could cost as much to cancel the project as it would to complete it, while delivering none of the benefits
The government has also confirmed trains will run at 320km/h (200mph), rather than the planned 360km/h (225mph). The change in speed could deliver up to £2.5bn in savings and at least a year in delivery time.
The first trains are now expected to start between Old Oak Common in west London and Birmingham Curzon Street between 2036 and 2039. The full line from London Euston to Curzon Street and a connection to the West Coast Main Line are estimated to open between 2040 and 2043.
Alexander said she shared taxpayers’ and communities’ anger about the “waste and mess” but was proud the government had worked with HS2’s new senior team to get the project “off life support and on the road to recovery”.
“We can and must build big infrastructure projects in Britain. But we also need competent people in charge of them. This is the same team that delivered the Elizabeth Line. We have done it before, we will do it again,” she said.
Wild said resetting HS2 was the only way to regain control of the project.
“We have turned a corner in the last 12 months with significantly improved levels of productivity, helping us to deliver major milestones ahead of schedule. We’re also progressing with plans to bring HS2 into line with other high-speed railways in Europe – further reducing the project’s complexity without compromising on benefits,” he said.
