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HS2 could cost up to £102.7bn and trains will be slower than first planned
The government says two-thirds of the increase comes from missed works and inefficiency, while services are delayed until 2036-2039.
- Transport Minister Heidi Alexander announced a "reset" of the HS2 project, with costs potentially reaching £102.7bn and train speeds reduced from 360km to 320km to save up to £2.5bn.
- Labour inherited a "litany of failure" from the previous government, Alexander said, with two-thirds of cost increases stemming from inefficient delivery and scope underestimates rather than inflation alone.
- Trains will not run between Old Oak Common and Birmingham Curzon Street until between 2036 and 2039, up to six years later than the 2033 target, a delay HS2 Ltd chief executive Mark Wild called "the only way to regain control of the project."
- Shadow transport minister Jerome Mayhew acknowledged that early project years were "beset with delay and cost overruns," while the government vowed to deliver the line "to completion" despite escalating expenses.
- The reduced 320km top speed aligns with high-speed services in Europe and Japan, while full service from London Euston to Curzon Street and the West Coast Main Line is not expected until between 2040 and 2043.
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High Speed 2 to Cost up to £103 Billion After More Delays
The UK’s High Speed 2 rail line will cost between £87.7 billion ($117 billion) and £102.7 billion and open by 2036 at the earliest, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said, revealing the latest budget increase and delay to the troubled project.
·United States
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HS2 costing almost £103bn, 300% of budget for fraction of route – in 13 years
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander has confirmed that the HS2 high-speed rail line – or the little that’s left of its original route – will cost almost £103bn. A lower estimate of ‘only’ £87.7bn has also been mentioned. However, the history of HS2 makes the idea of anything coming in at the lower end of an estimate laughable. The “overblown vanity project” is unlikely even start to function for another 13 years at best. The first phase – now th…
·United Kingdom
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources38
Leaning Left11Leaning Right3Center12Last UpdatedBias Distribution46% Center
Bias Distribution
- 46% of the sources are Center
46% Center
L 42%
C 46%
12%
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