Lords: slow HS2 or risk running out of rail
HIGH SPEED 2 should consider slowing down its trains to save money or risk only completing half the line, peers have warned, as they called for a major rethink of the project.
A report published today also suggests looking at scrapping plans for HS2 to terminate in central London and instead cutting costs by switching to a site on the western outskirts of the city.
The House of Lords economic affairs committee said it was “far from convinced” the £56billion HS2 would be delivered on budget amid growing concerns it could run out of money.
The committee’s report, backed by a former Civil Service chief and two former chancellors, said the project should not go ahead without a new assessment of its business case.
Reducing the speed of the line could cut costs, the report argued, because it would not have to be so straight and would need fewer expensive tunnels.
The group claimed if costs overran on phase one of the line between London and Birmingham, there may be “insufficient funding” for phase two and a risk “the northern sections of the new railway will not be built”.
The committee urged the Government to examine the viability of reducing the top speed and said northern sections “must not be sacrificed” to cover overspending in the south.
Currently the route heads from London to Birmingham where it will split, with one line bound for Crewe and Manchester, and the other for Leeds.
A failure to build HS2 beyond Birmingham would strike a hammer blow
to one of the Government’s key arguments that it would better connect the nation and help spread prosperity.
Ministers face growing pressure to scrap the project, with critics describing it as an expensive “white elephant”.
Lord Forsyth, the committee chairman, said: “The costs of HS2 do not appear to be under control. It is surprising, therefore, that the Government has not carried out a proper assessment of proposals to reduce the cost of HS2 – such as lowering the speed of the railway or terminating in west London rather than Euston – which the committee recommended in 2015. A new appraisal of the project is required. If costs overrun on the first phase ... there could be insufficient funding for the rest of the new railway.
“The northern sections ... must not be sacrificed to make up for overspending on the railway’s southern sections.”
HS2 is being built to allow trains to travel at 250mph, with services expected to initially run at 225mph which would be “faster than any railway operates in the world at present”.
Peers said they “do not see why” such speeds are necessary because the difference in journey times between 225mph and 185mph are “minimal”.
The committee, which includes former cabinet secretary Lord Turnbull as well as Lord Lamont and Lord Darling, accused the Government of failing to “satisfactorily” answer long-running questions about HS2’S viability.
The report said the way in which the project had been evaluated was “flawed” and placed too great an emphasis on faster journey times.
It said a final decision on whether to go ahead should not be taken until the Government has “urgently” undertaken a fresh economic assessment.
“It has the feel of a project of ‘let’s have the fastest railway in the world, this will look very prestigious and very modern, and then let’s try and make an economic case for it’,” Lord Forsyth warned.
An HS2 Ltd spokesman said the committee’s recommendations would be considered. “We are determined to deliver a railway that is value for money for the taxpayer, and a project that will reshape the economic geography of the country,” the spokesman said.