Description
The HS2 rail project could be delayed among a number of possible options being considered to curb rising costs, the project chief said. In an interview with the BBC, HS2 chief executive Mark Thurston said the impact of inflation on the project over the past year has been "significant... whether it's timber, steel, aggregates for everything the concrete that we have to use to build the labor, the labor, all our energy costs, the fuel.” The first phase of HS2 involves the construction of the railway between London and Birmingham, with the line being extended from the West Midlands to Crewe in phase 2a.
Phase 2b will connect Crewe with Manchester and the West Midlands with the East Midlands.
The latest cost target for Phase 1 between London and Birmingham is £40.3bn at 2019 prices.
In 2015 a budget of £55.7bn was set for all of HS2.
Thurston said broadcaster HS2 was in talks with providers and the government to find ways to minimize increased costs.
He said: "We're looking at the project schedule, the project phases, we're looking at where we can use our supply chain to secure a lot of these things that are costing us more because of inflation."
We are absolutely committed to delivering HS2 trains from London to Manchester.
His comments come after Rail Minister Huw Merriman told lawmakers on Thursday that the government remained "absolutely committed" to the project.
He told the House of Commons: "We are absolutely committed to the delivery of HS2 trains from London to Manchester and of course to the east as well."
"But of course we have to look at cost pressures, it's right for HS2 to focus on cost, what to expect from the government and taxpayers, we'll continue to do that."
"But... I am absolutely committed, as is the Secretary of State (Mark Harper) and the entire department, to deliver HS2 and the benefits to this country."
PA wire
Access
