HS2 has become “a casebook example of how not to run a major project”, according to the latest report from MPs on the public accounts committee (PAC) published last week.
The PAC criticised the Department for Transport (DfT) and HS2 Ltd for failing to work together effectively, starkly illustrated by their continued disagreement on the cost to complete Phase 1.
The DfT’s estimated cost range in November 2023 was £45-54bn compared with HS2 Ltd’s latest estimate of £54-66bn in June 2024. Both figures are based on 2019 prices but, with inflation, the total cost could now be close to £80bn, the PAC said.
“It is unacceptable that over a decade into the programme we still do not know what it will cost, what the final scope will be, when it will finally be completed or what benefits it will deliver,” the report says.
The PAC also identified “significant risks to the redevelopment of Euston station and its surroundings”. In autumn 2024, the government confirmed that HS2 would terminate at London Euston, however, the DfT does not yet have a plan for the work at Euston which includes: the HS2 station, the existing Network Rail station, the underground station, and the commercial and housing developments near the station.
“In addition, the DfT intends the work to be substantively privately funded, but it is unclear how achievable this goal is,” the PAC said.
The committee goes on to say the DfT “has failed in its oversight and financial control over one of our most important public sector projects and there is now a reputational risk to the UK”.
HS2’s new chief executive, Mark Wild, started work in December and is undertaking a project review and reset.
