MPs condemn HS2 failings in call to get a grip on costs

HS2 has become "a casebook example of how not to run a major project", according to the latest scathing report on the high-speed rail project from MPs on the public accounts committee.

- Gwyn Topham

The committee lambasted both the Department for Transport and HS2 Ltd for failing to work together effectively, and warned them not to waste the opportunity to get a grip on costs during the latest "reset" of the programme.

The MPs said it was "unacceptable that over a decade into the programme, we still do not know what it will cost, what the final scope will be, when it will finally be completed or what benefits it will deliver".

The high-speed rail scheme was given the go-ahead in 2012 and was due originally to link London with Manchester and Leeds, but now will stretch only from the capital to Birmingham.

The PAC said that the "cycle of repeated failure" between the DfT and HS2 Ltd was "starkly illustrated by their continued disagreement on how much it will cost to complete" the truncated line, with the government estimating £45bn-£54bn in November 2023 and HS2 Ltd estimating £54bn-£66bn in June.