HS2 Birmingham to Euston might never be delivered – here’s why

The public accounts committee (PAC) published a major review of the delivery of the HS2 project which slammed the Department for Transport and its delivery body for presiding over “a casebook example of how not to run a major project”.

The government confirmed in the Budget that the scheme would end in central London, but insisted, like its predecessor, that the scheme at Euston must be substantively funded by private finance. 

The PAC’s report said it was “unclear how achievable” this goal would be, given the approximate £6bn cost of the project.

“We are sceptical that the private sector will provide this level of contribution,” the report claimed.

The failure of the High Speed 2 (HS2) programme is now a reputational risk to the UK.@transportgovuk say there will be a fundamental reset of the programme by summer 2025 – We are calling for a detailed plan to be published

Read our latest report 👇

— Public Accounts Committee (@CommonsPAC) February 28, 2025

And, despite the northern leg of HS2 having been axed to cut costs, a move first revealed by The Independent, the PAC warned it has doubts about the government’s ability “to deliver even a curtailed scheme”.

According to the department, funding for Euston would be a mix of four components: private financing of the HS2 station; development receipts from commercial development; tax increment finance or contributions from local government; and some residual public funding.

“The department said that, once decisions are taken on the delivery model and spatial allocation, and the detailed design of the station has begun, there will be a better understanding of the potential commercial return and likely level of private investment,” the report said.

MPs (on the public accounts committee) said it was “unacceptable that over a decade into the programme, we still do not know what it will cost, what the final scope will be, when it will finally be completed or what benefits it will deliver”. #StopHS2 #HS2https://t.co/ibq9pigHV7

— Stop HS2 (@stophs2) February 28, 2025

The committee also added that even if the slimmed down HS2 project is delivered, it will “bring very poor value for money”. One example was the building of a bat protection tunnel in Buckinghamshire costing more than £100m.

PAC chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said: “The question has instead become: what possible benefit can the government now salvage for the taxpayer, from a mess that presents real risks to the UK’s overall reputation?”

Additionally, people living on the now abandoned route north of Birmingham to Manchester are also facing delays in being able to buy back properties compulsory purchased for the line as the government has paused any sale.

This is because Andy Burnham (Mayor of Manchester) and Robert Parker (West Midlands Mayor) hope to use the route to build a new rail link to Crewe.

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