By james art Ministers are to launch a review of HS2 as the cost of delivering the high-speed rail line has been allowed to “spin out of control”, the Transport Secretary has said.
Louise Hay announced on Sunday that ministers would take a direct role in overseeing the new line between London and Birmingham, with the cost of the project skyrocketing “without sufficient explanation”.
HS2’s main contractors will also be reviewed, which could lead to some contracts being renegotiated or amended, the Department for Transport (DfT) has warned.
The rail project was originally introduced by Labor back in 2010. But since then HS2 has suffered multiple setbacks, suffering rising costs, lawsuits and cancellations. At the center of the Tory government’s alignment plans, the second leg of HS2 linking Birmingham to Manchester was shelved by Rishi Sunak in October last year.
Ms Hay ruled out reviving Phase Two of the project after speculation Labor would restore it.
The estimated cost of the Phase One line from London to the West Midlands, which is still under construction, has risen from £30bn to as much as £59.7bn, according to a leaked 2022/23 document seen by Sunday Times this week. However, in September 2023 HS2 Ltd, which is overseeing the project, gave the government an upper estimate of £74 billion.
Here is the HS2 project timetable:
March 2010
Labour’s transport minister Lord Adonis formalized plans for HS2, outlining a rail network linking London’s terminal in Euston with a station in Birmingham. This was originally priced at £15.8bn to £17.4bn. Plans for a Y-shaped network with a western leg to Manchester and an eastern leg to Leeds via the East Midlands and Sheffield were also considered at this time.
January 2012
The Tories came to power in 2010. HS2 was officially given the go-ahead. Their plans say the line will operate in two phases, starting from Birmingham to London.
The Conservative government also promises: “High-speed trains will also connect seamlessly with existing West and East Coast mainlines to serve passengers outside the HS2 network in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Durham, York, Darlington, Liverpool, Preston, Wigan and Lancaster.
The first services are expected to start in 2026, with sections from Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds in operation from 2033. By this time, costs had already risen to £32.7bn.
November 2015
The cost has been revised upwards again to £55.7bn. The Government claims that every £1 invested in HS2 will bring benefits worth more than £2.50 to the UK economy. The route of the eastern leg was later published, with plans for trains to cut right through the brand new Shimmer housing estate in Mexborough, near Doncaster – leading to uproar. It later became clear that the engineers were working on old maps made before 2011, when construction on Shimmer’s 212 homes began.
February 2020
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged to build HS2 despite estimated costs rising to £106 billion, according to a review of the project by Oakervee. He argued that the line was essential as the “backbone” of a new transport network to tackle the “major musculoskeletal problem of UK transport”. By May 2020, HS2 is ‘badly off course’, the Commons Public Accounts Committee has warned.
September 2020
Construction officially begins on HS2, starting with the London-Birmingham section. Delays are being caused by environmentalists digging a network of tunnels in Euston Square Gardens, leading to a complex operation to remove them. The railway became highly politicized, contributing to a shock by-election defeat for the Tories as the Lib Dems won in Chesham and Amersham, Buckinghamshire.
By November 2021, Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, is scrapping the eastern section from Birmingham to Leeds. The route remains “safeguarded” in case a future government decides to fund the project.
June 2023
The government says services between Birmingham Curzon Street and Old Oak Common should start between 2029 and 2033, with services to Manchester sometime between 2035 and 2041. Construction of the Birmingham to Crewe leg of HS2 is being delayed by two years. while work at Euston is on hold as costs rise to £4.8bn despite an initial budget of £2.6bn.
July 2023
HS2 has been described as ‘not achievable’ by the government’s infrastructure watchdog. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority warned of “major issues with project definition, schedule, budget, quality and/or benefit delivery which at this stage do not appear to be manageable or solvable. The project may need to be reviewed and/or reassessed as to its overall viability.’
October 2023
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has confirmed he is scrapping the northern leg to Manchester, which was announced at the Conservative Party conference in the same city. He announces that he will instead invest in transportation projects across the country. In its annual report, HS2 Ltd said it lost £2.2bn on the northern leg of the megaproject in the year ending March 31, £1bn of which it attributed to lost economic benefits following Mr Sunak’s decision to cancel it.
January 2024
The Public Accounts Committee said: “HS2 now offers very poor value for money to the taxpayer and the Department [for Transport] and HS2 Ltd do not yet know what they expect the ultimate benefits of the programme.” Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer says it would not be possible for a future Labor government to restore Phase 2 as the contracts would be cancelled.
July 2024
Labor comes to power after winning the general election.
October 2024
Louise Hay announces she has launched an independent review into how costs were allowed to rise “without sufficient explanation”. She says: “It has long been clear that the cost of HS2 was being allowed to spiral out of control, but since becoming transport secretary I have seen first-hand the scale of the failure to deliver the project – and it is appalling. Taxpayers have a right to expect HS2 to be delivered effectively and I will support nothing less.’