Rejig of project due to be completed by railway bosses and government by next spring

curzon

Source: HS2 Ltd

The line will start and finish at Birmingham Curzon Street being built by a Mace/Dragados JV

The Department for Transport (DfT) and HS2 Ltd must put the programme on a stable footing to avoid previous failures, a new report from the National Audit Office (NAO) has found.

As of March this year, DfT and HS2 Ltd have spent £46.8bn on HS2, including on Phase 2, and HS2 expects to spend a total of £153m on its 2025 reset and to have completed it by next spring.

Last month, the DfT said the estimated cost of completing the HS2 programme would be between £87.7bn and £102.7bn. This is around double the 2020 cost estimate for phase one between London and Birmingham.

The NAO said the driving causes behind the majority of these cost increases are scope change, inefficient delivery and an underestimation of the time needed to complete the work.

It added: “Further work is needed to refine the May estimate, and HS2 is working towards a more certain and fully assured baseline estimate by spring 2027. Despite the cost increases, DfT assessed that completing the programme would represent value for money compared with cancelling the programme.”

The NAO’s recommendations:

  • Review the reset timetable in the autumn to assess whether it remains achievable
  • Maintain a focus on cost, schedule and commercial management as they move into the next stage of the programme
  • Revisit the governance as the programme moves into the next stages of work to check it remains fit for purpose

NAO head Gareth Davies said: “After facing historic difficulties, including significant cost increases and delays to delivery, HS2 Ltd and DfT are taking a considered approach so far in their latest reset to the HS2 programme.

“However, these previous issues highlight the importance of DfT and HS2 Ltd getting it right this time to ensure the future success of the programme. Establishing a fully robust estimate of cost and schedule, completing commercial negotiations and getting the right capabilities in place is necessary before they can complete the reset.”

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