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HS2 cost cuts new routes and add delays.

 Trans­port depart­ment offi­cials have begun work on «Project Sil­ver­light» sug­gest­ing the high­speed rail

Fast train route

scheme might face four addi­tional years of delay.

The planned High Speed 2 rail line faces fur­ther delays of up to four years and more cuts to the project under plans being drawn up by min­is­ters to rein in its bal­loon­ing costs.

The extra delays to the coun­try’s biggest infra­struc­ture project would mean that it would not be com­pleted until as late as 2045 — 12 years after ori­gin­ally planned.

«This is a func­tion of infla­tion; we are hav­ing to find huge sav­ings because the cost of everything the depart­ment is already doing will have become so much more expens­ive by then,» said one gov­ern­ment offi­cial.

In Octo­ber, the FT repor­ted that the Treas­ury had asked HS2’s man­age­ment team to identify poten­tial cuts or «scope reduc­tions» to the high-speed line.

Trans­port depart­ment offi­cials have sub­sequently begun work on Project Sil­ver­light aimed at find­ing cost sav­ings in the first phase of the project that will link Lon­don to Birm­ing­ham through a com­bin­a­tion of delays and cuts, accord­ing to insiders.

In a bid to cut costs fur­ther, the gov­ern­ment shelved a 140km stretch of the east­ern leg from East Mid­lands Park­way to Leeds two years ago. The latest cost­cut­ting ini­ti­at­ive is examin­ing scrap­ping the remain­ing 60km stretch. Another poten­tial cut to the scope of the project is the Hand­sacre Link, which would con­nect HS2 to the exist­ing West Coast main line, allow­ing high-speed trains to serve Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent.

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Comments

  1. Angie7 February 2023 at 11:59

    They need to make sure they don't cut corners in their attempt to save money. This does not sound good to me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Devon7 February 2023 at 13:41

      This has been already postponed and now they want to cut costs even more? This is a joke. It will get done when I'm 100 and who knows in what state it will be delivered.

      Delete
  2. Craig7 February 2023 at 15:43

    Cutting costs like this, on a whim, is never a good idea. They will inevitably make mistakes and cut corners where they shouldn't and the whole project will be delayed and actually end up costing even more money. They will just pay this money over more time. They won't actually save money on this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ned7 February 2023 at 15:59

      Exactly! It's always about saving money but because of many delays the project ends up costing so much more.

      Delete

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