HS2 may be forced to run at reduced speeds to save money, the company’s boss has said.
Mark Wild, the project’s chief executive, said “there is a need to simplify the day-one railway” amid calls for the project to be scrapped altogether.
In a damning assessment, Mr Wild, who took up post in December, said: “I am looking at all available levers (e.g. opening at slightly reduced running speeds, removing automatic train operation) while protecting the long-term agility to deliver the full benefits.
“This staged approach will reduce risk, improve reliability, allow for more certainty around cost, reduce the delay to the railway’s opening and enable incremental build-up of the service.”
HS2 was initially designed to connect London, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds and York at speeds of up to 250mph.
In 2011, the government gave the project at £32 billion budget, with the first leg between the capital and the Midlands planned to open in 2026.
But trains will only now run between London and Birmingham, with a reported top speed of just 200mph amid spiraling costs.
Heidi Alexander told MPs on Wednesday that the scaled-back project would not be completed by 2033 and said costs had soared by £37 billion.
The Transport Secretary branded HS2 an “appalling mess” after years of mismanagement and unforeseen challenges during construction.
Speaking in the Commons, she said: “It gives me no pleasure to deliver news like this.
“Billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money has been wasted by constant scope changes, ineffective contracts and bad management.”
A new budget and schedule for HS2 is due to be signed off by the middle of next year, sources told The Times.
Ms Alexander did not confirm the total cost of HS2, but there are suggestions the project will top £100 billion at current prices.
Then prime minister Boris Johnson scaled the project back in 2021, cancelling the eastern leg to Yorkshire.
Rishi Sunak went further in 2023, cancelling the line north of Birmingham, including the shortened leg to East Midlands Parkway in Nottinghamshire.
There are doubts over whether HS2 would even end at Euston, although the Department for Transport confirmed tunnelling between the terminus and Old Oak Common would go ahead.
Ministers will also accept the findings of a forthcoming report by James Stewart, formerly of KPMG, into the governance and accountability at HS2.
Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer has asked the Cabinet Secretary to “consider the implications for the civil service and wider public sector of the issues raised in the report, including whether further action or investigation is warranted”.
