HS2 review to find focus on achieving 'highest possible speeds' was major fault
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander will set out the findings of the review in the House of Commons later, as well as new costs and a timetable for the stripped back version of HS2.
HS2’s focus on achieving the “highest possible speeds” is one of the main faults which contributed to the project’s woes, a major review is expected to find.
Sir Stephen Lovegrove, the former national security adviser, will criticise the “original sins” in the decision-making behind the multibillion-pound rail project in a report due to be published today.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander will set out the findings of the review in the House of Commons later, as well as new costs and a timetable for the stripped back version of HS2, which is still being built between London and Birmingham.
HS2 was originally planned to run onwards to Manchester and Leeds to solve capacity problems for rail in the North, but the project was severely curtailed by the Conservatives in power because of spiralling costs.
In 2021 Boris Johnson scrapped the Leeds leg and in 2023 Rishi Sunak axed the Manchester segment, with mayors describing it as a “betrayal of the North”.
The project’s budget has spiralled and it has been hit by huge delays, with Ms Alexander recently saying there was “no route” to the 2033 target.
In 2013, HS2 was estimated to cost £37.5bn (at 2009 prices) for the entire planned network, however now it appears at least £100bn will be spent on only 135 miles of railway.
In March last year, Ms Alexander tasked the new CEO of HS2, Mark Wild, with finding ways to save the taxpayer cash and speed up construction time, including by reducing the speed of trains.
HS2 was originally designed to run at 360km per hour, faster than any trains in the world. Ministers are now considering reducing this to 320km per hour as part of steps to build it out faster.
In his review of the project, Sir Stephen is expected to list “the original sins of the scheme”, including “the original ‘gold plating’ of the high-speed concept, with a focus on the highest possible speeds, resulting in bespoke and highly engineered design”.
He will also hit out at “the decision to begin construction at the hardest points of the route” between London and the Midlands.
“Changing objectives and political priorities”, as well as the level of costs and risk “being very badly underestimated” are also set to come under fire in the report.
Both the Public Accounts Committee and Transport Committee of MPs are holding investigations into the failures of HS2.
Mr Wild is expected to give evidence to MPs tomorrow, along with Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy and senior Department for Transport official Dean Creamer.