The cost of HS2 could hit £66bn, according to management estimates

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The cost of building the High Speed ​​​​​​​​2 rail in Britain has been estimated at £ 66bn, which is an increase of £ 9bn on the previous estimate, in a paper made this year by the management of the complex project.

A report by the Department for Transport on Tuesday cites an HS2 paper from June which put the cost of the project at between £54bn and £66bn at 2019 prices, according to people familiar with the document.

This marks the biggest increase since November last year, when the government revealed HS2’s cost estimate for the rail link between London and Birmingham had risen to . between £49bn and £57bn in 2019 prices.

If inflation is taken into account, the latest estimate of £66bn would be closer to £80bn at today’s prices.

Last year’s estimate of between £49bn and £57bn came despite the Conservative government cutting the scheme in half by cutting the northern leg of HS2 from Birmingham to Manchester, in an attempt to save money.

The government will dispute the £66bn budget, saying it is not approved by the Department for Transport, according to officials.

A senior official said the figure was not an estimate for HS2 but a rough estimate based on existing reserves. But the latest estimates show just how cost-effective Britain’s shipping project appears to be.

Mark Wild, the new head of HS2, is doing a comments about the cost of the policy.

It is expected to take four to five months to complete the project. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Mark gets north of £80bn when he has to deal with inflation and inflation and all that,” said one industry analyst.

In October, the then transport secretary Louise Haigh announced that Wild would “assess the current situation in terms of cost, schedule and quality, and propose a plan to deliver the remaining work as efficiently as possible, including on budget and on schedule”.

Wild will also seek to renegotiate other contracts which officials say will leave HS2 “on the brink”.

His comment is due to coincide with the publication of the Treasury’s three-year budget in June, when HS2 is due to be paid for to take inflation into account.

HS2 has been plagued by delays and cost overruns since ministers gave the go-ahead a decade ago, with regulators blaming problems including expensive contracts, tunnel extensions and ground problems.

The cost of the line between London and the north of England was put at £33bn when it was approved in 2012.

The DFT and HS2 have been contacted for comment.