HS2 tunnel into Euston must deliver ‘credible plan’ for regeneration Transport & Infrastructure With tunnelling finally underway for the HS2 link between London Euston and Old Oak Common, a business group has called for a “credible plan” for regeneration of the area around the Central London transport artery. Business LDN has said that whilst the beginning of the tunnelling is “a significant milestone and a timely reminder of [...]
The only way to make HS2 cheaper? Build HS3 Transport and infrastructure It’s a basic fact of economics that the more efficiently you make something, the easier it is to bring down the price. Among the best-known examples is the Ford Model T, one of the top-selling cars in the 20th century with more than 15 million produced. The manufacturing process became so efficient, and each car’s [...]
Surinder Arora: Heathrow could be the next Thames Water Transport and infrastructure Surinder Arora is the man bidding to break a decades-old monopoly by winning the right to build Heathrow’s third runway. With the government’s first remarks on proposals expected this month, he sits down with Ali Lyon to discuss the merits of his proposal, the reasons behind it, and why he thinks that – without urgent [...]
HS2 contracts may be twice as costly as first thought, says new boss July 9, 2025 The contracts for HS2 may run to more than double their initial projected cost, the troubled project’s new chief executive has warned ahead of crunch talks this autumn. Mark Wild, who was brought in to reset the high-speed line last year, told MPs the contracts would finish “considerably over budget,” with a likely overspend of [...]
Exclusive: Taxpayers to front extra £4bn for recent HS2 delays July 2, 2025 Recent delays to HS2 have increased costs for taxpayers by up to nearly £4bn, according to a government document detailing the value of mega-projects in the UK. The Office for Value for Money, a cost-saving unit set up by Rachel Reeves, found deferrals over the last two years would increase costs on Phase 1 from [...]
CMA to probe delivery of UK road and railway projects as costs soar June 19, 2025 The UK’s competition watchdog will launch a review into the delivery of UK road and railway infrastructure amid widespread delays and cost overruns. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its study would focus on “persistent issues around cost and delivery” of schemes across the country. It comes a day after the government delayed HS2 [...]
HS2: Can it be pulled back from the brink? June 18, 2025 For anyone who has followed the debacle surrounding HS2, the transport secretary’s scathing verdict on Wednesday will come as no surprise. The “appalling mess” of HS2, as Heidi Alexander put it, means there is “no route” to delivering the scheme on time and on budget. Shock. HS2’s costs were already known to have exceeded more [...]
HS2: Transport secretary confirms two-year delay after ‘shambolic mess’ June 18, 2025 Transport secretary Heidi Alexander has confirmed that HS2 will be delayed by at least two years, slamming previous handling of the project as an “appalling” and “shambolic mess”. The embattled high-speed rail link will be pushed back beyond 2033 following a “litany of failures” outlined in two reports by HS2 boss Mark Wild and KPMG’s [...]
HS2 faces two more years of delay amid ‘litany of failures’ June 18, 2025 Ministers will delay HS2 by at least another two years and outline a “litany of failures” which have led to costs on the project spiralling out of control, in the latest storm facing Britain’s biggest infrastructure project. Transport secretary Heidi Alexander will present the findings of two scathing reports into the project on Wednesday afternoon, [...]
‘I tried to warn them, but no one listened’ – one man’s crusade against HS2 June 12, 2025 “History will not be kind to those who, if it is pursued, push through this silly scheme.” It is not far off a decade since Lord Framlingham decided to take drastic action against HS2, the deeply troubled high-speed rail project connecting London and Birmingham. The former commons deputy speaker staged a last-ditch attempt to kill [...]