The Government has given a full reset to the HS2 project, with the aim of delivering the project as quickly as possible, as well as being at the lowest cost.

New costs and timeframes have been agreed, including attempting to get passengers on trains sooner.

The project is now expected to cost between £87.7bn and £102.7bn, with the Government citing inflation and underestimation as the cause for the cost increase.

It has also been confirmed that trains will now run at 200mph, rather than the previously announced 225mph. The Government says that there is no existing track to test trains on, and would have added extra time and cost (anticipated to be around a year and £2.5bn) to the project.

Trains are expected to start running between Old Oak Common and Birmingham Curzon Street between 2036 and 2039, with a full service between London Euston and Curzon Street/connection to the WCML between 2040 and 2043.

The UK Government says it is committed to running HS2 trains between Birmingham and London in full, saying that a new assessment has found it would cost as much to cancel the project as it would to complete it.

HS2 will mean more trains on the West Coast Mainline and would save around 30 minutes between London and Birmingham.

“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.” 

Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander