HS2 is considering reducing the top speed of its trains after UK government analysis found that at the highest end of the specification, every additional mile per hour adds around £1 billion to the overall project cost, according to reporting by The Times.
Several UK outlets, including The Times and the BBC, report that ministers are preparing to ask the UK’s biggest rail project to examine lower train speeds as part of a broader effort to bring costs and delays under control.
The issue has been sharpened by a testing constraint of the trains for the high-speed network that could significantly affect delivery. Under the current design plans to use rolling stock that can reach up to 360 km/m, HS2 trains would either need to be shipped abroad for trials, with China identified as a potential option, or wait until the line itself is sufficiently complete to allow testing in the UK. Department for Transport sources told the BBC this could delay the project by several years and add billions in additional costs.
UK press reported that Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is now expected to ask the new HS2 chief executive Mark Wild to review options including a lower initial operating speed, with government sources saying ministers are “weighing up all options to claw back as much time and money for the taxpayer as possible”.
Speed under pressure
HS2 was originally designed under David Cameron’s Conservative-led government to run at up to 360 km/h (224 mph), a top speed set early in the project that exceeds the operating speeds of most high-speed railways currently in service. By comparison, trains in China and Indonesia run at around 350 km/h, while services on Britain’s HS1 line operate at up to 300 km/h.
Sources cited by The Times said the scheme had always been “needlessly over-speced” and conceived as a “gold-plated project”, with the speed specification now under scrutiny on two fronts. On the technical side, the UK currently has no infrastructure capable of testing trains at 360 km/h, leaving HS2 with a choice between delaying trials until parts of the route are complete or sending trains overseas for testing.
On the financial side, Whitehall analysis reported that the cost impact of higher speeds was significant, with each additional mile per hour adding around £1 billion to the project’s budget.
Reset delayed
The developments come as HS2 undergoes a wider reset led by Mark Wild, aimed at establishing a more realistic delivery plan for the cost-spiralling project. He had been expected to confirm this month that completion would slip beyond the current 2033 target and that costs could exceed £100 billion in today’s prices. However, that update has been delayed until after the May elections, according to the BBC.
The London–Birmingham section was officially estimated at £54 billion to £67 billion in 2019 prices, with inflation likely to push the final figure significantly higher. Services between Birmingham and Old Oak Common are currently expected between 2029 and 2033, while the Euston connection is not anticipated until the 2040s.