The High Speed 2 rail project is at risk of being scaled back in northern England under cost-cutting plans drawn up by the panel reviewing the UK’s flagship infrastructure project.
The route beyond the East Midlands to Leeds and Sheffield would be axed and train speeds cut by 40mph in an attempt to save more than £10bn, according to people close to the panel, which is led by former HS2 chairman Douglas Oakervee. The panel is also exploring whether to ditch an expensive track development into Euston station in central London and instead ending the line at a proposed new hub in west London.
The panel is under pressure to find savings after HS2 Ltd, the taxpayer-funded company overseeing the new railway, admitted last month that projected costs had soared by more than £20bn to £88bn. HS2 Ltd also pushed back the completion date from 2033 to between 2035 and 2040.
Cutting train speeds from 250mph to 210mph would mean the line would still be as fast as the Japanese bullet train but would save about £8bn because cheaper track and trains could be used, people close to the project said. The speed cut could also reduce the need for tunnelling.
Many supporters of HS2 have said privately that they would accept slower speeds because they value the promise of extra passenger capacity and reliability more than reduced journey times.
Current plans are for a Y-shaped line that runs from London to Birmingham in HS2’s first phase and then splits, with one leg going to Manchester via Crewe and the other to Leeds via Toton, a new East Midlands hub station between Nottingham and Derby. There would also be a branch through Sheffield.
Any proposal to curtail the eastern leg of the line from Birmingham at Toton will be resisted fiercely.
Bernadette Kelly, permanent secretary at the Department for Transport, told MPs on Wednesday that the northern part of the railway was most likely to be scaled back to save money because it did not yet have parliamentary approval.
She said there was “more scope” for changes to the two northern lines of the scheme than the first phase, from London to Birmingham.
Judith Blake, leader of Leeds city council, warned that failure to build the line to the city would “condemn the north and east of the UK to second-class status”.
“There will be grave long-term consequences for the economy of the north and east of the UK if the eastern leg of HS2 isn’t delivered in full,” she said. “It would sacrifice the £600m of annual GDP growth forecast from better connections between Leeds and Birmingham alone, while also putting at risk the expected 50,000 additional jobs HS2 would create in the Leeds city region.”
Business leaders and politicians in the East Midlands will also fight hard for the full route to be built. Toton will provide a new hub to enable faster trains between destinations such as Birmingham, Leicester and Nottingham, but losing the link on to Leeds and Sheffield reduces the economic benefits, according to HS2’s analysis.
HS2 is also proposing that all the stations could be funded by property developers as a money-saving measure, according to a person close to the panel. However, rail engineers advising on the project say it is unlikely that the property developers would cover all the costs of engineering works.
The panel is expected to report this month but the government will take the ultimate decision on its recommendations.
The Department for Transport said: “We are not going to pre-empt or prejudice this work with a running commentary on the review’s progress.”
