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Select Committee · Public Accounts Committee

HS2: Update following the Northern leg cancellation

Status: Closed Opened: 31 Oct 2024 Closed: 16 May 2025 8 recommendations 43 conclusions 1 report

In October 2023, the Government announced the cancellation of Phase 2 of the High Speed 2 (HS2) railway from the West Midlands to Manchester, as well as a smaller HS2 station in London Euston. Following this announcement, the Department for Transport (DfT) and DfT’s arm’s-length body HS2 Ltd began work to understand the implications for …

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
10th Report - HS2: Update following the Northern leg cancel… HC 357 28 Feb 2025 51 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

4 items
31 Conclusion 10th Report - HS2: Update following the… Acknowledged

Expanded Euston programme scope includes commercial development, housing, and station redevelopments.

In the October 2023 announcement, the government at the time set out that the HS2 station itself would be planned to be smaller, reflecting the lower number of train services expected to operate following the cancellation of Phase 2. However, the scope of the Euston programme would now be larger, …

Government response. The government agrees with the committee’s observation and will provide an update on progress concerning the Euston programme in its next six-monthly report to Parliament, expected in Summer 2025.
HM Treasury
32 Conclusion 10th Report - HS2: Update following the… Acknowledged

Department pursues holistic Euston approach, progressing new delivery company and corporation models.

The Department told us that the new approach to Euston is now a holistic one, seeking to build consensus between stakeholders and as a unified delivery rather than the ineffective attempts of the past to try to solve each part separately and hope that they fit together.55 The Department expects …

Government response. The government agrees with the conclusion and will provide an update on progress on Euston in its next six-monthly report to Parliament, expected in Summer 2025.
HM Treasury
34 Conclusion 10th Report - HS2: Update following the… Acknowledged

Department stresses need for correct financial incentives in new Euston delivery company.

The Department also pointed to the need to get the financial incentives right in the new delivery company, including what the shareholding and financial participation would be between the different bodies, so that people consider the collective interest, not just their own interests. The Department reasoned that having that in …

Government response. The government agrees with the conclusion and will provide an update on progress on Euston, which implicitly covers aspects of the new delivery company, in its next six-monthly report to Parliament in Summer 2025.
HM Treasury
35 Conclusion 10th Report - HS2: Update following the… Acknowledged

Department anticipates mixed funding for Euston station, including significant private investment.

We also challenged the Department on the likelihood of obtaining the more than £6 billion that the station at Euston is estimated to cost from the private sector. The Department suggested that the funding for Euston would likely be a mix of four components: private financing of the HS2 station; …

Government response. The government agrees with the conclusion and will provide an update on progress on Euston, including potentially on funding, in its next six-monthly report to Parliament in Summer 2025.
HM Treasury

Oral evidence sessions

1 session
Date Witnesses
19 Dec 2024 Alan Foster · HS2 Ltd, Alan Over · Department for Transport, Dame Bernadette Kelly DCB · Department for Transport, Mark Wild · HS2 Ltd View ↗

Correspondence

15 letters
DateDirectionTitle
4 Sep 2025 To cttee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport and High Sp…
9 Jul 2025 To cttee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Transport and the Chi…
8 Jul 2025 To cttee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport and the Chi…
3 Jul 2025 From cttee Letter to the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport relating to t…
30 Jun 2025 From cttee Letter to the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport relating to t…
26 Jun 2025 To cttee Letter from the Interim Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport and…
9 Jun 2025 From cttee Letter to the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport relating to t…
19 May 2025 To cttee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport relating to…
17 Mar 2025 From cttee Letter to the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport relating to t…
4 Feb 2025 To cttee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport relating to…
20 Jan 2025 To cttee Letter from the Deputy Chief Executive Officer at High Speed Two (HS2) Limited …
20 Jan 2025 To cttee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport relating to…
20 Jan 2025 To cttee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport relating to…
2 Jan 2025 From cttee Letter to the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport relating to t…
19 Dec 2024 To cttee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport relating to…