Leaked report urges troubled HS2 should get the go-ahead despite costs soaring to £88billion
TROUBLED HS2 should go ahead despite costs soaring to £88billion, a review will recommend.
A leaked copy of the report advises ministers to commit to completing the high-speed rail network even though value to the taxpayer has plummeted.
But it admits the scheme — a 345-mile track linking London, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester — is “not affordable” within the £56billion budget set in the 2015 spending review.
The new £88billion estimate for HS2 — Europe’s biggest infrastructure project — is also likely to be revised upwards, the independent review says, according to The Times.
It will add pressure on Boris Johnson to say whether a Tory government would give it the go-ahead. The PM has sought to delay a decision until after the General Election.
The report finds the strategy for sourcing staff and materials for the first phase — London to Birmingham, originally due to open by 2026 — has been a failure, with prices being significantly inflated.
It also says the rising costs mean that the benefit to taxpayers has fallen from £2.30 for every £1 spent in 2017 to between £1.30 and £1.50 for every £1 spent this year.
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But it says it will boost the northern cities in particular by improving connections on inter-city lines.
HS2 is being built with a top speed of 250mph — faster than lines almost anywhere in the world. But most trains will run at up to 225mph.
It will cut the Birmingham to Leeds journey time from two hours to just 45 minutes.
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