Sheffield Midland option would save £1 billion

One of the prime reasons for the proposed route into Sheffield Midland station is that it would cost about £1 billion less than going through Meadowhall, even when the links to the existing line and the necessary upgrades have been paid for.

“We were fully aware that other plans, such as if you were to put a high speed station through Sheffield Victoria, or in fact through Sheffield Midland, had significant additional cost above and beyond the original budget, which was already a challenge. So the idea of adding cost to Phase 2 was definitely a risk,” HS2 Ltd Chairman Sir David Higgins told RAIL.

“The fact that the new route can save £1bn is certainly a benefit, because we’re going to have a cost challenge on Phase 2 for a vast number of years. So this certainly contributes to confirming to the National Audit Office [NAO], but particularly to the Treasury and the Department, that we can keep to the cost savings that we advised them we could back in 2014.”

On June 28 the NAO released its Progress with preparations for High Speed 2 report ( RAIL 804), which acknowledged the cost and schedule pressures facing the project.

“The NAO report also coincides with a Cabinet Office report on Phase 1 and Phase 2, which is for the new Prime Minister and potentially a new administration that comes in post the election of a Prime Minister. They will have the confidence of having two extensive reports that are very up-to-date that look into HS2 and its cost.”