HS2: costs spiral, support dwindles

The costs for building HS2 have already started to mount up amid calls for the rail project to be scrapped.

Support is dwindling for the High Speed 2 (HS2) rail project after former chancellor and transport secretary Alistair Darling and the Institute of Directors (IoD) called for the £40bn scheme to be scrapped. Just 27% of IoD members believe the project, which would link London to Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester via a superfast rail network, represents good value for money.

Worse still, information leaked by the Treasury to the Financial Times suggests the final cost could be £73bn. "HS2 runs the risk of substantially draining the railways of money vital for investment over the next 30 years," says Darling in The Times. The costs are not yet "nailed down" and could spiral. To commit to spending so much on just one project seems "foolish".

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