HS2 should be ‘largely completed’ by now but project is just over halfway there, boss admits
HS2 boss blames ‘inefficiency’ for construction delays
- HS2's chief executive, Mark Wild, admitted the project's civil engineering is only 60 per cent complete, despite initially being scheduled for near completion by now.
- Wild attributed the significant delays and cost overruns primarily to "inefficiency of work," stemming from starting construction before final designs and consents were in place.
- He also acknowledged that the coronavirus pandemic and inflation, exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, contributed to the project's setbacks.
- Phase One, connecting London and Birmingham, was originally due to open by 2026 but now has no clear timeline, with costs for this section escalating to an estimated £66 billion from an initial £37.5 billion for the entire network.
- The Public Accounts Committee has heavily criticised HS2, calling it an example of "how not to run a major project".