HS2 rail link 'may never reach London'

The UK government refused to confirm the high speed rail project will go ahead as planned

Construction of the Colne Valley Viaduct which will stretch for 3.4 km and carry high-speed trains around 10 metres above a series of lakes and waterways outside northwest London. Photo: PA

Britain's HS2 rail project, designed to connect London with the Midlands and the North with high-speed rail links, may never reach central London, it is believed, after the government failed to deny media reports it could be scrapped or rerouted.

The costs of the project are said to be soaring, because of the mounting costs of steel, concrete and labour, forcing the government to consider stopping the line in west London, instead of at the central London terminus of Euston, the Sun newspaper said.

HS2 has been dogged by criticism over its financial and environmental impact.

Last year, the government ordered a review of HS2 costs as inflation and borrowing costs rose, and just a week ago the Department of Transport warned of "tough decisions" ahead.

In October of last year, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove suggested capital investment for HS2 would be reviewed, but Chancellor Jeremy Hunt subsequently backed the project.

Construction of the first part of the track from west London to Birmingham is already well underway.

The Sun said the project could be delayed for up to five years and with that there are "fresh fears the Birmingham to Crewe and Manchester legs will also be scrapped".

HS2 was expected to cost between £72 billion and £98 billion at 2019 prices, but inflation has now added significantly to the cost.

Annual inflation in the UK in 2019 was less than 2 per cent. Last year, it was more than 9 per cent.

Asked about the report, the government did not deny that it was considering the West London option, but confirmed its commitment to building the line to Manchester in northern England.

"The government remains committed to delivering HS2 to Manchester, as confirmed in the Autumn Statement," a Department for Transport said in an emailed statement.

Labour peer Lord Berkeley, who in 2019 was deputy chairman of a review into HS2 commissioned by former prime minister Boris Johnson, believes the entire project should be scrapped.

He told the PA news agency: “The alternative in the news this morning is using Old Oak Common as a terminal station, which would work for half the number of trains that they want with a bit of redesign, but it wouldn’t do the lot.

“There’s not enough space for it so they couldn’t do it except maybe a shuttle service from Birmingham.

“What’s the point of building HS2 just to get to Birmingham?

“I think the whole thing should be cancelled.”

He claimed that investment in the project would be “much better spent on improving the railway lines in the north, east and west, rather than going to London a bit quicker”.