HS2 operates in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire. The second section of the railway line may be scrapped due to rising costs. Photo: Jim Dyson/Getty Images
Rishi Sunak could scrap the second half of HS2 as early as this weekafter £8 billion. rising costs have put the scheme on track to destroy the budgets of other transport projects.
Mr Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt are expected to meet earlier this week to finalize plans to cancel the second phase of the project. the troubled railway line from Birmingham to the north.
A Whitehall source said: “There is a reluctance to spend good money on bad.”
The Telegraph understands that officials expect the top estimate for construction of the initial section of the line from London to Birmingham to increase by at least a fifth — or more than £8 billion — from the £45 billion figure published in June 2022.
A sharp increase is forecast despite Conservative demands to bring rising costs and long delays under control following a major review under Boris Johnson.
The figures have raised concerns within the government that the total cost of the scheme is likely to top £100 billion again — an estimate Mr Johnson touted before abandoning the eastern section of the line to save costs.
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Such a figure could jeopardize countless other projects, including investments in roads and rail, with one Whitehall source saying: “There will be no money for anything else.
Initial estimates that the scheme would provide a benefit of £2.40 for every pound of public money spent have been gradually reduced to 90p — a figure that is expected to fall further as a result of the sharp rising costs.
The Prime Minister is now preparing to announce a decision to dramatically cut the line as part of his pledge last week to «change the way our politics works» and to «be honest when the facts change, even if it's awkward.»
A source who discussed the plans with Mr Sunak's team said the prime minister was angry about persistent cost increases.
Last week, in a highly unusual intervention, Mr. Mr Hunt warned that the costs of HS2 were “absolutely rising”. out of control.»
Mr Sunak and Mr Hunt are expected to make a final decision on scrapping the section of the line to be built between Birmingham and Manchester, saving up to £34 billion and freeing up funding for other transport infrastructure in the North and Midlands.
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The pair will also decide whether to discontinue the remainder of the line at Old Oak Common, in the western London suburbs, which is being used as a temporary terminus, after work at Euston, the proposed terminus – was suspended due to cost increases from £2.6 billion. up to 4.8 billion pounds sterling.
MPs are separately pushing for more stations to be built on the London to Birmingham section if phase two is cancelled.
A spokesman for HS2 Ltd, the state-owned company building the line, said costs had risen due to inflation and “the impact of the Covid pandemic.”
A spokesman insisted: “Any additional costs will be spread over many years.”
When MPs were first asked to approve HS2 in 2010, the estimated cost of the entire line was £30 billion, and the Department for Transport said it would «consider whether and how civil engineering costs could be reduced.»
The budget jumped to £55.7 billion in 2015 before Johnson's government published a revised estimate to £98 billion before deciding to scrap the eastern leg to Leeds.
Dominic Cummings, who was Downing's senior adviser. A street consultant at the time Johnson decided to go ahead with HS2 later said the then prime minister made the decision based on «junk» data predicting exponential growth in demand for the service.
Mr Johnson said on Saturday that plans to cut the line were “Treasury-driven nonsense”.
2,209 crazy costs hs2
In July, The Telegraph reported that the future of HS2 was in doubt after the official infrastructure watchdog warned that «successful delivery» of the project «appears elusive.»
Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) has given a «red» rating to plans to build the first two stages of the troubled rail line.
A separate document was leaked and revealed that the plan to scrap the proposed Euston terminal would still result in a £1bn cost overrun.
Campaigners claim that cutting the scale of HS2 would mean «damaging environmental damage.»
But in 2019, Mark Thurston, the scheme's chief executive, admitted that the «net benefit» to the environment «won't become apparent» for some time after the planned opening of the railway because it would require a «huge amount of money». concrete.”
A spokesman for HS2 said: “We are building a railway that will level up the country and meet Britain's needs for the next hundred years and beyond.
“The money spent on HS2 has an immediate impact, with 30,000 UK jobs and thousands of UK businesses already benefiting, years before the first trains start running and the bulk of the benefits are realized.”
“The UK is experiencing persistent and much higher than expected levels of inflation, affecting all parts of the economy, including HS2.
“We are currently working with our supply chain partners to undertake a detailed assessment of the true level of inflation, as well as the impact of the Covid pandemic and changes in project phases.”< /p>
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