# Britain delays major rail project HS2 as costs soar again
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2023-03-09
Category: NEWS
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/news
Meta Title: Britain delays HS2 construction in central England amid cost
Meta Description: Find out why Britain is pushing back the construction of parts of the high-speed railway project HS2 linking London and northern England due to increased
URL: https://financedigest.com/britain-delays-major-rail-project-hs2-as-costs-soar-againhtml

![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/2023-03-09t174629z1lynxmpej280s9rtroptp4britain-railway-1736814346359-compressed.jpg)

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain said on Thursday it would delay building parts of a new high-speed railway linking London and northern England after the cost of the massive project, known as HS2, soared yet again.

In the latest blow to a project designed to modernise Britain’s rail network and add capacity on busy tracks, the government said construction of a section in central England would be pushed back.

“We have seen significant inflationary pressure and increased project costs,” British transport secretary Mark Harper said in a written statement to parliament.

[Companies involved in building HS2 include Kier Group](https://www.financedigest.com/incentive-fm-group-wins-contract-with-global-events-company.html "Incentive Fm Group Wins Contract With Global Events Company"), Balfour Beatty and Vinci.

First proposed in 2009, HS2 is billed as the largest infrastructure project in [Europe and aims to help the UK catch up with other European countries](https://www.financedigest.com/best-countries-in-europe-to-live-in.html "Best countries in Europe to live in") with extensive high-speed rail.

The whole project, which will [connect London](https://www.financedigest.com/immediate-lift-of-oxford-property-prices-to-result-from-new-direct-high-speed-rail-connection-with-london.html "“Immediate lift” of Oxford property prices to result from new direct high speed rail connection with London") Euston to Manchester, had been scheduled for final completion from 2035-2040.

But Harper said the section between the city of Birmingham and the town of [Crewe around 60 miles to its north](https://www.financedigest.com/offshore-crews-to-strike-on-bps-north-sea-installations-says-unite.html "Offshore crews to strike on BP’s North Sea installations, says Unite") would be “rephased” by two years. He did not [set a new completion date for the whole northern section linking Birmingham to Manchester](https://www.financedigest.com/uks-most-liveable-city-manchester-sets-its-sights-on-the-world-from-tourists-to-property-investors.html "UK’s most liveable city, Manchester sets its sights on the world, from tourists to property investors").

He also said the section of rail linking HS2 to Euston station in central London would be deprioritised, with work focusing first on joining the [line up to a newly-built but much less central hub in suburban north-west London](https://www.financedigest.com/farewell-to-the-queen-crowds-line-streets-of-london-and-windsor.html "Farewell to the queen: crowds line streets of London and Windsor").

These are the difficult but responsible decisions we are taking, that put the priorities of the British people first, in controlling [inflation and reducing government](https://www.financedigest.com/factbox-how-governments-are-trying-to-ease-inflation-pain.html "Factbox-How governments are trying to ease inflation pain") debt,” Harper said.

HS2 was expected to [cost between 72 billion and 98 billion pounds](https://www.financedigest.com/commonenergy-mistakes-costing-homeowners-hundreds-of-pounds-each-year.html "Commonenergy mistakes costing homeowners hundreds of pounds each year") at 2019 prices, but since then the bill has been pushed up by inflation – which ran at around 18% in the construction industry last year, affecting materials like timber, steel and concrete.

The 2019 [budget was already a big jump from the 2015 estimate of 56 billion pounds](https://www.financedigest.com/the-pound-gilts-and-stocks-likely-winners-and-losers-from-uk-budget.html "The pound, gilts and stocks: likely winners and losers from UK budget"). The project has also already been [scaled back; in 2021 the government scrapped a planned link to Leeds, citing spiralling costs](https://www.financedigest.com/mifid-ii-why-you-should-not-scale-back-your-implementation-efforts.html "MIFID II: WHY YOU SHOULD NOT SCALE BACK YOUR IMPLEMENTATION EFFORTS").

Tens of [thousands of jobs](https://www.financedigest.com/meta-plans-to-cut-thousands-of-jobs-as-soon-as-this-week-bloomberg-news.html "Meta plans to cut thousands of jobs as soon as this week – Bloomberg News"), and billions in economic growth are dependent on this project,” said Louise Haigh, transport policy chief for Britain’s opposition Labour Party. The government’s “chaos and chronic indecision” was [holding back](https://www.financedigest.com/fear-of-failure-holding-back-british-entrepreneurs-new-research-finds.html "Fear Of Failure Holding Back British Entrepreneurs, New Research Finds") jobs, growth and costing taxpayers, she added.

Construction of the first part of HS2, from [west London](https://www.financedigest.com/first-time-buyer-bags-a-dream-home-in-south-west-london.html "First time buyer bags a dream home in south west London") to Birmingham, is already underway.

(Reporting by Sarah Young and Sachin Ravikumar; editing by William James)


---
This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more.
---