HS2 Costs Could Hit £102.7bn as Opening Slips to 2039 and Top Speed Falls to 199 mph
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 19
HS2 Costs Could Hit £102.7bn as Opening Slips to 2039 and Top Speed Falls to 199 mph
10 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 19
Heidi Alexander told parliament HS2 trains are now expected to start running between Old Oak Common and Birmingham sometime from May 2036 to October 2039, later than earlier plans.
£87.7bn-£102.7bn is the new 2025-price cost range, up from the project's original £32.7bn estimate in 2011, with ministers blaming years of poor management and a "litany of failure."
199 mph is the revised maximum operating speed, down from 224 mph, trimming performance on the curtailed London-Birmingham line after northern legs were scrapped in 2023.
The Lovegrove report said HS2 Ltd became "misguided" and adopted a "fortress mentality," while also faulting the civil service for failing to spell out commercial and financial risks to ministers.
Any further slippage would shift political pressure onto the current government, which has now tied itself to a narrower, slower and far more expensive project.
With costs topping £100bn for a shortened line, what tangible benefits justify finishing HS2?
Why might new HS2 trains to Manchester offer fewer seats and slower journey times than current ones?
What system is in place to prevent the UK's next £100bn infrastructure mistake?