Will £100bn HS2 rail plan hit the buffers?

Fears train link is now headed for scrapheap before it begins

THE future of the HS2 high-speed rail project was thrown into doubt yesterday as the Government warned it could be scrapped or dramatically scaled back.

Announcing an ‘independent and rigorous’ review into the scheme, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said ‘clear evidence’ was needed before a decision could be made on whether to go ahead.

With £6.6billion already spent without a single piece of track being laid, ministers have given up hope of sticking to the £56billion budget – and Boris Johnson recently admitted it could be ‘north of £100billion’.

Mr Shapps said he told the review to ‘just give us the facts… really, genuinely what it would cost to complete this project. Then we will know and we will be in a much better position to make the decision to go or no go by the end of the year.’

The Department for Transport has insisted for years that the line linking London with the North of England will go ahead, shrugging off concerns over spiralling costs.

But in a change of tack spearheaded by the Prime Minister, a panel of experts have been asked to assess the project’s benefits and impacts, affordability and efficiency, deliverability and scope.

The department confirmed it will also look at radical options to slash costs, including operating slower trains and stopping the line at Birmingham rather than extending it to northern cities.

Other options include extending the line from the West Midlands to Crewe but ditching plans to build a high-speed line between Crewe and Manchester and between the West Midlands and Leeds.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘We have long argued that HS2 is a waste of taxpayers’ money, and it’s good news that the Government will conduct a full review. This is a sign the Government is willing to be bold and think seriously before spending taxpayers’ money on a white elephant.’

But questions were immediately raised by campaigners about the independence of the man handpicked by the Prime Minister to advise the Government.

The review will be led by Douglas Oakervee, the former chairman of HS2 who said in September 2013 it would be ‘catastrophic for the UK’ to scrap the project. The retired engineer, 78, has also said the country would ‘start deteriorating quite rapidly’ without HS2.

Joe Rukin, campaign manager at Stop HS2, said: ‘We have serious questions whether a review headed by a former chairman of HS2 could ever be described as independent. We worry they are simply going to go away and make up some increasingly outlandish and improbable numbers to justify this white elephant.’

One prominent critic of the project, Tory MP Andrew Bridgen, claimed Mr Johnson promised to launch a review of HS2 to secure the support of MPs opposed to it when he was running for leader. He said: ‘We will see how independent his review is by the results. It will be very easy to find projects in the Midlands and the North that will deliver better value for taxpayers’ money and be more effective.’

But last night a Whitehall source stressed the review’s deputy chairman, Lord Berkeley, has been a vocal critic of HS2, with the Labour peer accusing its bosses and officials at the Department for Transport of covering up mounting costs. The first phase of HS2 will link London with Birmingham and is scheduled to be completed by 2026. The second phase will branch out to northern cities including Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester. This is not due to be finished until 2033.

Ministers led by former Transport Secretary Chris Grayling have repeatedly stressed the huge benefits HS2 will deliver for passengers and the British economy.

Trains are expected to operate at speeds of up to 225mph, reducing the journey time between London and Birmingham from one hour 21 minutes to 49 minutes, according to official estimates.

But a string of reports have warned the project will blow its £55.7billion budget and have suggested the money would be better spent on smaller-scale projects to improve Britain’s creaking infrastructure.

Fears that costs at are out of control were confirmed by its new chairman Allan Cook, who warned it could cost up to £30billion more than the official budget.

Bosses at HS2 have already confirmed they are considering running slower trains and reducing the number of services to cut costs. The independent report into HS2, overseen by the Prime Minister and Chancellor Sajid Javid, will be sent to the Transport Secretary in the autumn.

Last night business groups expressed dismay that the future of HS2 has been thrown into doubt. British Chambers of Commerce director-general Adam Marshall said: ‘For far too long, businesses have had to cope with heavily congested Victorian-era railways. They count the cost of this in delayed journeys, overcrowded trains, uncertain deliveries and unreliable services.’

Confederation of British Industry director of infrastructure Tom Thackray said: ‘The business message on HS2 is clear-cut – back it, build it, benefit from it.’

‘Think seriously about this white elephant’ ‘The project will blow its budget’