TRAINS will not be running on HS2 tracks through Warwickshire until at least 2036.
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander today set out plans to reset the controversial project, delivering the high speed rail line as quickly as possible and at the lowest reasonable cost.
She announced new delivery timeframes and costs for HS2, adding the new plans could save billions in cost and years in construction time while delivering services at same speed as Japanese bullet trains.
The project is now expected to cost anywhere between £87.7 and £102.7 billion – a massive hike on the orginal estimate of £32.7billion.
Two thirds of the huge increase has been blamed on works being missed from the scope of the original project plan, underestimation by previous governments, inefficient delivery – and the remaining third due to inflation.
The Government has also confirmed HS2 will run at 320km/h (200mph), aligning with speeds across Europe and Japanese bullet trains. In previous plans, HS2 trains were set to run at 360km/h (225mph) but with no existing track to test trains at that speed in Great Britain, adding to spiralling costs and build time.
It is claimed the change in speed could deliver savings of up to £2.5bn and at least a year in delivery time.
The first trains are now expected to start between Old Oak Common in west London and Birmingham Curzon Street between 2036 and 2039. An estimate of the full scheme from London Euston to Curzon Street and a connection to the West Coast Main Line, is between 2040 and 2043.
The Government remains committed to delivering HS2 in full between Birmingham and London, with a new assessment revealing it could cost as much to cancel the project as it would to complete it, while delivering none of the benefits.
Mrs Alexander, said: “Taxpayers, passengers and communities along the route have been let down by years of mismanagement on HS2.
“I share their anger about the waste and mess, but I am proud that this Government has worked with HS2’s new senior team to get this project off life support and on the road to recovery.
“We will get the job done but we will also take every opportunity to save time and money in the process, getting a grip on delivery, controlling costs, and stripping out the complexity that’s plagued the project in the past.
“We can and must build big infrastructure projects in Britain. But we also need competent people in charge of them. This is the same team that delivered the Elizabeth Line. We have done it before, we will do it again.”
HS2 Ltd CEO Mark Wild’s ongoing reset, which started last summer, has seen six major construction milestones reached earlier than planned, including sliding a bridge under the A46 bypass near Kenilworth.
said:
Mr Wild said: “I recognise this will be unwelcome news for local communities and taxpayers, and I share in their disappointment that it will take longer and cost more to bring HS2 into service.
“Resetting HS2 was the only way to regain control of the project. We have turned a corner in the last 12 months with significantly improved levels of productivity, helping us to deliver major milestones ahead of schedule. We’re also progressing with plans to bring HS2 into line with other high-speed railways in Europe – further reducing the project’s complexity without compromising on benefits.
“Better journeys, more capacity on the network, and economic growth are all vital to the country’s future prosperity, and that’s exactly what we will deliver. Driven by the hard work of 31,000 people on the ground, HS2 is finally getting back on track.”
Some 54 kilometres of the 190km track between London and Birmingham will cut through the heart of Warwickshire, with a new station also being built near Birmingham Airport. Swathes of the county’s landscape has already been transformed by work on the line.
