BRITAIN’s secretary of state for transport, Heidi Alexander, says the under-construction HS2 high-speed line between London, Birmingham and Handsacre Junction will not open by 2033 as planned. Alexander did not offer a revised opening date and appeared to rule out reinstating cancelled phases of the project to Crewe, Manchester and Leeds.

Addressing Parliament on June 18, Alexander said that Phase 1 of HS2 from London to Birmingham “could end up becoming one of the most expensive railway lines in the world,” citing a cost increase of around £37bn along with £2bn that was spent on Phase 2 to Crewe and Manchester before it was scrapped by the previous government in October 2023.

Initially expected to cost £33bn, the current estimated cost for the London - Birmingham section of the project is around £57bn, according to the government’s most recent figures. Alexander did not rule out further increases. However, she vowed “to draw a line in the sand,” and “call time on the years of mismanagement, flawed reporting and ineffective oversight” that have beset the project, and to bring costs under control.

“We have made clear to the new chief executive [of HS2 Ltd], Mark Wild, that the priority is building the rest of the railway safely at the lowest reasonable cost, even if this takes longer,” Alexander said, adding that the government “would not reinstate cancelled sections that we cannot afford.”

Unsustainable

Wild was appointed to lead HS2 Ltd, the state-owned company building the new high-speed line, in December 2024 and his initial assessment of the project was published on June 18. It finds that the overall project in terms of cost, schedule and scope is unsustainable.

Alexander said that the findings show that there is “no route by which trains can be running by 2033 as previously planned,” agreeing with Wild’s assessment that costs will continue to increase if not taken in hand. “Billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money has been wasted by constant scope changes, ineffective contracts and bad management,” she said.

Along with supporting Wild’s findings, Alexander told Parliament that the government will also accept all of the recommendations of a review of the project conducted by senior infrastructure delivery advisor, James Stewart, which began in October 2024 and was also published on June 18. Alexander revealed that the Department for Transport (DfT) is already working to deliver on its recommendations in five key areas:

  • a lack of oversight and scrutiny: Alexander says the government has re-established a Ministerial Task Force set up by the previous government to scrutinise HS2. It has also established a new performance programme and shareholder board
  • cost control: delivering all of the report’s recommendations in this area, starting with a fundamental change in how HS2 Ltd estimates costs, along with offering greater certainty over future funding. As announced on June 11, the government’s Spending Review allocated £25.3bn to the London Euston - Birmingham Curzon Street section over the next four years
  • addressing skills and capability gaps within HS2 Ltd. Alexander highlighted the appointment of Mike Brown, a former commissioner of Transport for London (TfL), as the new chair, along efforts to improve the company’s commercial expertise
  • finalising the strategy to develop the planned London terminus at Euston, and
  • using the Stewart report’s recommendations to fundamentally alter how government delivers infrastructure projects, which it will set out in its upcoming 10 Year Infrastructure Plan.
Fraud

Alexander also referred to allegations of fraud within the HS2 supply chain, which she said will be investigated “rapidly and vigorously.”

Calling the project “an appalling mess” she concluded her statement to Parliament by vowing to turn the page on failed infrastructure projects.

“We need to set targets that we can confidently deliver and that the public can trust,” Alexander said. “That will take time, but rest assured, where there are inefficiencies, we will root them out. Where further ministerial interventions are needed, I will make them.

“But no-one should underestimate the scale of the reset required.”