The Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, will confirm tomorrow that HS2 could cost £100billion despite it being scaled back several times. She will also reveal that delivering the high-speed rail project may cost triple the original price tag of £32.7billion.
The Transport Secretary will confirm tomorrow that HS2 could cost £100billion despite it being scaled back several times. Heidi Alexander will tell the Commons that delivering the beleaguered high-speed rail project may cost triple the £32.7billion price tag it was originally given in 2011.
And this will only cover the remaining planned stretch connecting London with Birmingham. The original route would have seen new tracks continue onto Leeds and Manchester after forking into an Eastern and Western leg northwards from Birmingham. But these were scrapped by previous Tory governments to save cash as costs rocketed. It suggests that delivering the original route would have comfortably exceeded £150billion.
Ms Alexander’s oral statement to MPs tomorrow will be the first time officials have officially acknowledged costs for the London-Birmingham route could hit up to £100billion, the equivalent of £1billion a mile. She is expected to set out a range for the projected final cost, with £100billion being at the top end. The top speed of HS2 trains will become slower to save money, with the first ones not running until 2035 at the earliest.
The project has already burnt through more than £40billion of taxpayers' cash. HS2 CEO Mark Wild will be quizzed by MPs on the Commons transport committee on Wednesday about the project’s progress
HS2 Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander Costs Scaled-Back Original Route Tory Governments Costs Rocketed Original Sins Changing Objectives Levels Of Costs And Risk Being Underestimated Contracts Being Awarded Too Early HS2 Building Works Greg Smith Mid Buckinghamshire London To Birmingham Leg £100Billion £40Billion Taxpayers' Cash Mark Wild Commons Transport Committee Project's Progress
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