The HS2 high-speed railway project is now expected to cost up to £102.7 billion, with trains between London and Birmingham not starting until as late as 2039, the UK government has admitted. This represents a staggering increase of £70 billion and a delay of 13 years compared to original promises.
Official Budget Estimate
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander announced the first official estimate of HS2's budget in 2026 prices, ranging between £87.7 billion and £102.7 billion. Only a third of the rise is attributed to inflation, with the remainder due to omissions, underestimates, and inefficient delivery.
Timeline for Services
The first trains between Old Oak Common in west London and Birmingham Curzon Street are now scheduled between 2036 and 2039. Full services from London Euston to join the West Coast main line in Staffordshire are expected between 2040 and 2043.
Alexander blamed the previous Conservative government for overseeing what she called "the world's most expensive slow-motion car crash," adding that Labour inherited a "litany of failure." She stated, "I can confirm that the previous government spent most of HS2's budget without laying a single mile of track. That is the shocking legacy."
Cost-Saving Measures
To save approximately £2.5 billion, trains will operate at reduced speeds—lowering the top speed from about 225 mph to nearly 200 mph (360 km/h to 320 km/h), aligning with international standards. Alexander described the original design as "a massively overspecced folly." Plans for automatic train operation may also be dropped.
Alexander noted that the government considered canceling the project but concluded that "it could cost almost as much to cancel the line as finish it." She pledged to deliver HS2 to completion, promising improved contract management and oversight.
Project History
HS2 was first approved in January 2012 with a £32.7 billion budget for a Y-shaped high-speed network extending to Manchester and Leeds, initially planned for operation by 2026. That figure excluded rolling stock, which is now included in the revised budget, with trains built in the UK by Alstom and Hitachi.
High-speed services will eventually run to Manchester and Scotland using conventional lines once connected at Handsacre in the early 2040s. The budget range partly reflects uncertainty over the redevelopment of London Euston, which the government hopes to partly privately finance.
HS2 Ltd chief executive Mark Wild acknowledged the unwelcome news but stated, "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." Spending on HS2 is guaranteed until 2029-30 under the current spending review.
