Berkeley challenges Grayling on HS2 costs

Rail Freight Group Chairman Lord Berkeley has written to Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling, to challenge him on the Department for Transport’s view that the capital cost of Phase 1 of HS2 remains £24 billion at 2013 prices, excluding rolling stock.

Berkeley argues that the project has had “significant additions of scope”, and that a detailed cost estimate prepared by Quantity Surveyor Michael Byng concludes the capital costs could be £51bn.

The letter follows the production in 2016 of a new set of drawings, which Berkeley says suggests a larger footprint at Euston, more connections to the ‘classic’ network, major works around the proposed Birmingham Interchange stations, alterations to motorways and trunk roads, additional enabling works, and diversions or relocations of watercourses.

Berkeley says the list is “not exhaustive”, adding: “We have every confidence in its [Byng’s cost estimate] accuracy.”

He has asked Grayling to provide an update in the DfT’s cost estimates on the 2016 drawings compared with those in the original Bill, and to either accept Byng’s cost estimate or provide a “detailed critique of where your Department’s estimates differ and why”.

Berkeley wrote: “Ministers are clearly trying to hide every detail of costs of HS2 and comparators, be they international or done in detail by Michael Byng. Few if any in the industry believe the DfT figures so, before spending tens of billions of taxpayers’ money, Government must come clean and, if necessary, pause the project so that the real costs can be investigated in detail by Parliament.”