High Speed 2 (HS2) review
HS2 is a major rail engineering project to provide improved capacity and reduced journey times between London and the north of England. It has been controversial because of its costs, impact on the countryside and questionable benefits.
The annual reports from the IPA on progress show steadily rising costs. A statement from HS2 in August 2019 revealed that costs for Phase2 will increase further and that the completion date will be delayed by at least 5 years. A progress report from the National Audit Office in January 2020 disclosed that total spending is likely to exceed £80bn. The government is holding an independent review into the project. In the meantime construction on Phase 1 will continue.
News/Information re HS2:
- AppGov overview of IPA & NAO reports
- HS2 website
- BBC News
- Guardian
- Independent
- Companies House - HS2 Ltd
- NAO report in January 2020
- Tussell HS2 Factsheet
- What Do They Know? HS2 FOI requests
- Wikipedia