UK set to approve HS2 high-speed rail project despite soaring costs

Supporters of HS2 say it will slash journey times and add capacity to Britain’s crowded rail network

But critics have pointed to the project’s rising costs, reported to be as much as £100 billion

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A train bound for Birmingham New Street station waits on a platform at London Euston railway station. The UK's HS2 High Speed Rail project linking London to northern England is behind schedule and over budget. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 3:56pm, 11 Feb 2020Updated: 4:01pm, 11 Feb 2020

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was set to push ahead with the HS2 high-speed rail project linking London to northern England, despite political opposition and spiralling costs.

The new route will be the UK’s biggest ever infrastructure project – and currently Europe’s largest – but the total price tag could reach more than £100 billion (US$129 billion). The first trains may not start running until 2031.

The project has been dogged by controversy owing to projected spiralling costs and damage to wildlife. File photo: AFP

Johnson was expected to announce his decision to proceed with HS2 on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter.

HS2 would be Britain’s second high-speed rail project after HS1, or the line linking London with the Channel Tunnel that goes on to connect the UK with France.

The government will say that the whole of the project which will link London to Birmingham and then split into two and connect the northern English cities of Manchester and Leeds should go ahead, the BBC reported.

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