HS2 downgrade has cost UK taxpayers more than £2 billion
30 July 2024
The decision by former UK prime minister Rishi Sunak鈥 to scrap the second phase of the UK鈥檚 controversial HS2 high speed rail line cost the country more than 拢2 billion (US$2.6 billion) a new report shows.
In its published on Monday, the UK鈥檚 largest infrastructure project revealed that Sunak鈥檚 decision to cancel the second leg of the rail line which would run north of Birmingham included 拢2.17 billion (US$2.8 billion) of one-off costs associated with cutting back the railway.
HS2, the independent body responsible for delivering the project, said that it had written off 拢1.1 billion (US$1.4 billion) in costs incurred during phase two, which include impairments for remediation, reinstatement and the costs associated with exiting the phase.
The company also calculated a further 拢1 billion (US$1.3 billion) of write downs due to impairments of assets resulting from the change in scope of the project which will reduce its income in future.
Original plans for the high-speed line would have allowed trains to run at up to 225 miles per hour between London, Manchester and Leeds.
However, in October 2023, after lengthy delays and cost overruns, Sunak announced that the line will now run between Birmingham and Old Oak Common in west London and eventually be extended to Euston station.
HS2 said 拢8.6 billion of taxpayers鈥 money had been spent on it in the year to the end of March, compared with 拢6.9 billion the previous year.
Last weekby the UK government鈥檚 National Audit Office estimated that plans to extend the line to Euston station in central London would take several years.
鈥淭here have been considerable changes to the scope of HS2 in the past year, which have in turn triggered changes to the way HS2 is run, operated and governed. The government鈥檚 decision in October 2023 to chance Phase Two of HS2 and deliver a new station at London Euston through private finance has had a big impact on our activities, 鈥渟aid Sir John Thompson, executive chair of HS2, in the report.
鈥淟ike all long-term infrastructure projects, we鈥檝e been affected by economic conditions with inflation, instability in the global supply chain and the changes to HS2鈥檚 scope making delivery increasingly challenging.鈥
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