HS2 could cost some £30 billion more than expected, it has been reported.
The chairman of the high-speed railway project has written to the Department for Transport to warn that it cannot be completed for the original £55.7 billion budget, the Financial Times says.
The newspaper said Allan Cook, who is reviewing the project amid cost concerns, has predicted the final figure could end up being between £70 billion and £85 billion.
The potential hike in price is down to various factors including engineering costs, poor ground conditions and extra costs due to it being designed to run faster than other comparable rail projects, the paper quoted an unnamed source close to the project as saying.
HS2 is planned to run up to 18 trains per hour at a top speed of 225mph – faster than France’s high speed TGV service which currently runs at around 200mph.
A spokesman for HS2 Ltd said: “We don’t comment on leaks or speculation. We have previously noted that our chair, as you would expect, continues to scrutinise the programme, and regularly reports back to the Department.
“We are determined to deliver a railway that rebalances the economy, creates jobs, boosts economic growth and is value for money for taxpayers.”
A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: “The chairman of HS2 Ltd is conducting detailed work into of the costs and schedule of the project to ensure it delivers benefits to passengers, the economy and represents value for money for the taxpayer.
“This work is ongoing. We expect Allan Cook to provide his final assessment in due course.”
It is not the first time concerns have been raised around the project coming in on budget.
Former HS2 chief Sir Terry Morgan (Andrew Matthews/PA)
A report by the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee in May warned it was “far from convinced” it would be built for the original planned cost, and former HS2 chairman Sir Terry Morgan has claimed the project cannot be built to its current specification on budget.
Meanwhile, a separate report by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) think tank argued earlier this year that the project will widen the north-south divide and should be scrapped in favour of significant investment in rail services outside London.
Tory leadership candidate Boris Johnson has already said he will have a review of the project should he become the UK’s next prime minister.
Mr Johnson said the project is going to cause “a great deal of difficulties” for his constituents in Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
Phase 1 of HS2 is planned to run between London and Birmingham from December 2026, while a second Y-shaped phase will launch in two stages.
Phase 2a from the West Midlands to Crewe is due to open in 2027, followed by Phase 2b from Crewe to Manchester, and Birmingham to Leeds, in 2033.
HS2 trains will also serve destinations on conventional lines beyond the new high-speed network, including York, Newcastle, Liverpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel