Labour has vowed to the HS2 rail project back on track after accepting the recommendations of a damning report into the huge waste of taxpayers’ money
Labour has vowed to tackle the “appalling mess” left by the Tories after the chronic failure of the High Speed 2 rail line.
A damning review found HS2 needs a “fundamental reset” in the face of long delays and rocketing costs. The study, by industry bigwig James Stewart, found there was no single reason for the project’s disastrous handling.
However, he said the scheme – which has already been massively scaled back from its original aim – had been riven by political meddling, complexity, a breakdown in trust, and widespread failures by management and contractors.
Mr Stewart, a former chief executive of the successful Crossrail project – now London’s Elizabeth Line – says: “The project is in a state of flux and uncertainty. A fundamental reset is required.”
Labour has accepted all 89 recommendation of the review, in a bid get the project back on track.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, addressing the Commons, branded HS2 a “litany of failure,” as she vowed to “put a lid on spiralling costs”. She added: “It is an appalling mess but is one we will sort out.”
She warned Phase 1 of the project – linking London and Birmingham – “could become of the most expensive railways in the world, with the projected cost soaring by £37billion under previous Conservative governments.
The latest estimate puts the bill at up to £57billion, but others believe the final cost could be anything from £80billion to £100billion.
Mark Wild, parachuted in as chief executive of HS2 Ltd, is due to provide an update on the expected cost by the end of the year, along with an estimated final completion date. Ms Alexander admitted Phase 1 would not now be finished by 2033, as hoped.
The waste includes £2billion ploughed into Phase 2 – between Birmingham and Manchester – before it was scrapped by Tory PM Rishi Sunak in 2023. Another part of the route, between the East Midlands and Leeds, was cancelled in 2021.
Ms Alexander told MPs: “It has been no less than a litany of failure and today I am drawing a line in the sand, calling time on years of mis-management, flawed reporting and ineffective oversight.
“It means this government will get the job done between Birmingham and London. We won’t reinstate cancelled sections we can’t afford. But we will do the hard but necessary work to rebuild public trust.” She added: “There have been too many dark corners for failure to hide in.”
The task of resetting the project would take a year to complete, she added. It also emerged that HMRC was investigating potential fraud in the project.
The move follows allegations that a company building the rail line has reported one of its subcontractors to the tax authorities over possible fraud. It is understood to involve claims over the way pay was handled for some construction staff.
While the scope of the project has been drastically scaled back, Labour has committed to extending the end of the line in London from Old Oak Common to Euston station.
Concerns about the costs of the stunted project have persisted. Revelations in November last year that HS2 Ltd spent £100million on a bat tunnel aimed at mitigating the railway’s environmental impact stunned Westminster, and were singled out by PM Sir Keir Starmer for criticism.
The report acknowledged that external events – from Brexit and Covid to the war in Ukraine – had impacted HS2 and led to costs spiralling. But it also blamed a merry-go-round of ministers. Since January 2020 there have been four Prime Ministers, six Chancellors, and five Transport Secretaries.
It recommended HS2’s new management look to other successful projects for inspiration, including the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.