The building of the High Speed 2 (HS2) railway between London and Birmingham could cost more than £65bn at current prices due to rising materials costs such as steel and concrete, according to Sir Jonathan Thompson, the CEO of the company building the infrastructure. The rise in materials costs in recent years has resulted in an additional expense of £8-10bn. Although the government cancelled the sections of the railway between the West Midlands, Manchester, and the East Midlands in October, disagreements over the cost of building the remaining sections persist.
HS2 Ltd’s latest estimation for the stretch between London and Birmingham is £49-56.6bn in 2019 prices, whilst the government believes it should be delivered at the lower end of £45-54bn. However, Sir Jonathan does not believe this is possible. He stated that the price tag could be lower without the taxpayer-funded station at Euston, but that it is unlikely to bring down costs as much as the government has stated.
HS2 has seen costs inflate over the past decade due to poor cost estimation, changes in scope, and poor delivery, Sir Jonathan went on to explain. It is possible that delaying parts of the project for cash flow reasons could end up meaning they cost more to deliver. The Covid pandemic may have contributed an additional £500-£600m. Sir Jonathan also said HS2’s trains will travel more slowly than existing Pendolino trains between Birmingham and Manchester, as they cannot tilt on bends.
The CEO’s comments were criticised by Labour, which claimed the higher cost projections resulted from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s “weak leadership and mismanagement of HS2”. Shadow Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh claimed that nobody can trust the government to deliver projects on time and on budget.
Developing the terminus at London Euston is dependent upon investment from private developers, but until this station is built HS2 will end at Old Oak Common in West London, necessitating a change of trains to reach central London. The government has stated that developers have expressed interest in investing in Euston, but no firm commitments or new station designs have been made
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More