HS2 in ‘very serious situation’, boss says
HS2 is in a “very serious situation” and needs a “fundamental reset”, the new boss of the company building the high-speed railway has warned.
Mark Wild, chief executive of HS2 Ltd, said he is committed to ensuring the railway opens “safely and efficiently”.
Earlier this month, HS2 Ltd estimated the cost of building the railway would be between £54 and £66 billion in 2019 prices – between £67 and £83 billion in current prices.
But appearing before the Commons Public Accounts Committee, the Department for Transport’s top civil servant Dame Bernadette Kelly said these figures were not “reliable” and an agreed estimate was unlikely to be produced until “well into 2025”.
Fundamental reset
Mr Wild, who joined HS2 Ltd at the start of December, said in a statement on Monday: “New railways provide better journeys and they boost economic growth by fuelling investment in communities and businesses.
“The prize is clear. However, the programme is in a very serious situation that requires a fundamental reset to enable it to be delivered to the lowest feasible cost.
“I am committed to delivering this reset over the coming year to ensure the railway can be brought into service safely and efficiently.”
Progress
HS2 Ltd published an update outlining the progress in building the 140-mile line between London and the West Midlands.
It said 38 of the 55 miles of twin-bore tunnels have been excavated, and 58% of engineering work to prepare the ground for the railway’s cuttings, embankments, stations and landscaping has been completed.
Work has also stated on constructing 158 out of 227 viaducts and bridges.
More than 31,000 people are employed on the programme, which has 350 active construction sites.
Mr Wild said: “HS2 represents a significant investment in Britain’s future and in the last month I’ve been inspired by the hugely impressive feats of civil engineering taking shape right along the route.”
Construction projects expected to be completed in 2025 include excavation of the 8.4-mile Northolt Tunnel in west London and both bores of the 3.5-mile Bromford Tunnel which will carry the line in and out of Birmingham.
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As usual… for ‘Britain’ – read England.
A vanity project which in its truncated form will be little more than an extended metropolitan railway northern line similar to the Elizabeth Line.
.. with an ever escalating price tag ! Investing in a major overhaul of the old network would have done the job but an overpriced vanity project suited the big egos in UK government.
The sentence to describe it A VERY EXPENSIVE WHITE ELEPHANT paid partly by Welsh taxpayers who unlike our Celtic cousins Scotland and Northern Ireland had a a couple of billion each in lieu of H S 2 but nothing we are an after thought by both Tories and Labour the people of Wales need to wake up and become independent a Welsh Republic and not int he bloody commonwealth
Sell (and temporarily rent back) the entire central government estate in SW1 and use the proceeds to build brand new government facilities halfway up HS2 and use the rest to upgrade the entire railway network and pay down the national debt. I’m sure the world’s billionaires will be queuing up to bid for the Palace of Westminster to turn it into the largest casino in the world. Just the £22bn not needed to patch up the Houses of Parliament would cover much of this infrastructure upgrade project.