London Mayor says HS2 could become a "colossal waste of money"
There are reports the extension to Euston - and the Birmingham to Manchester leg - could be scrapped
Last updated 24th Sep 2023
In a letter to the Prime Minister, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said HS2 could end up being a “colossal waste of money” if key elements of the plan are scrapped.
Mr Khan said it would take longer to get from Birmingham to central London on HS2 than existing trains if plans for it to terminate at Euston station are abandoned.
The Prime Minister is also reportedly set to axe the northern leg of HS2 rail line as costs for the project spiral.
That's despite opposition from Tory predecessors, business chiefs and the Mayor of London.
In his letter to Rishi Sunak, Mr Khan said speculation about that was “deeply worrying”.
And the Labour mayor told Mr Sunak: “The Government’s approach to HS2 risks squandering the huge economic opportunity that it presents and turning it instead into a colossal waste of public money.”
When the railway first opens between London and Birmingham, expected between 2029 and 2033, its terminus in the capital will be Old Oak Common, in the western suburbs.
HS2 trains are not expected to run to Euston until around 2041 at the earliest and there are now doubts the central London extension will ever go ahead.
Mr Khan said: “Terminating the service at Old Oak Common would be a short-sighted decision which will have long term implications, significantly downgrading the value of HS2 as a high-speed connection and leaving a ridiculous situation where a ‘high speed’ journey between Birmingham and central London could take as long as the existing route, if not longer.”
He said the “best case” journey time of one hour and 22 minutes from Birmingham to Euston, changing at Old Oak Common onto the Elizabeth Line and Northern Line, was “already one minute longer than the existing train time”.
Mr Khan told the Prime Minister: “The public would rightly be dismayed were all of this time and money spent on a line that took longer to reach central London than the existing route, and was devoid of any proper connections to the north of England.”
The Sunday Telegraph reported the potential cost of the high-speed rail scheme – which Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said is “out of control” – had increased by £8 billion.
The Observer suggested the decision to kill off the Manchester leg of the scheme could come before the Tories host their conference in the city on October 1st.
The Prime Minister and Chancellor are reported to be meeting to discuss the situation in the coming days.
A Whitehall source told the Telegraph: “There is a reluctance to throw good money after bad.”
The newspaper reported that officials expect the upper estimate of building the initial London to Birmingham stretch of the line to increase by more than £8 billion from the £45 billion figure published in June 2022.
Spiralling costs could prevent investment in other transport projects and wipe out any financial benefits from the scheme, the newspaper said.
What's the Government saying?
A Government spokesman said: “The HS2 project is already well under way with spades in the ground, and our focus remains on delivering it.”