HS2 reset to punch 33bn black hole in Britain's public finances

HS2 faces a funding shortfall of up to £33bn after the latest reset pushed the project’s bill toward £102bn. Revised Department for Transport plans for the London-to-Birmingham line indicate Whitehall must find between £18bn and £33bn of additional public money before the end of the current spending review period. The delays mean first trains will not run before 2036 at the earliest, with services into central London delayed until at least 2040. The project has undergone six major resets in 13 years, and the latest change followed the Stewart Review, which described failures within the Department for Transport and HS2 Ltd. The repeated setbacks raise concerns about the country’s ability to deliver major infrastructure and deliver promised regional growth.

"The Treasury faces the unenviable task of plugging a shortfall of up to £33bn after ministers conceded that the latest reset of HS2 has driven the embattled rail project's bill towards a staggering £102bn, leaving the chancellor with little choice but to raid other budgets, raise taxes, or both."

"Analysis of the Department for Transport's revised plans for the London-to-Birmingham line, published in the wake of transport secretary Heidi Alexander's bruising statement to the Commons on Tuesday, suggests Whitehall will need to find between £18bn and £33bn of additional public money before the end of the current spending review period."

"Alexander did not mince her words at the despatch box. She branded the line, originally intended to whisk passengers between London Euston and central Birmingham in under 50 minutes, an "over-specced folly" and accused her Conservative predecessors of needlessly gold-plating a scheme that has already swallowed £44bn of taxpayers' cash over its 17-year existence."

"According to the official update delivered to Parliament, the first trains will not now run before 2036 at the earliest, with services into central London delayed until at least 2040, meaning construction will have stretched across more than a quarter of a century by the time the project is complete."

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