High Speed 2 inquiry
Closed
What the inquiry looked at
“The programme for High Speed 2 (HS2) is facing cost and schedule pressures with options for extending the opening date for phase 1 now being considered and steps are being taken to bring cost estimates within available funding, according to a report by the National Audit Office. The 2026 target opening date for phase 1 is at risk despite good progress with some major procurements. The Department for Transport (the Department) has asked HS2 Ltd to revisit the programme schedule in order to increase confidence for delivery from 60 % to 80%, without increasing costs. It has also asked HS2 Ltd to assess the impact of extending the timetable for opening Phase 1 by up to 12 months. Since the NAO reported in 2013, the Department and HS2 Ltd have made significant progress in preparing to deliver the programme. They have issued tender documents for major civil engineering contracts on phase 1, and plan to announce the preferred route for phase 2b later in 2016. In 2013, the Public Accounts Committee raised concerns about the ambitious timetable for High Speed 2, and the NAO report states that the Department set HS2 Ltd a schedule for achieving delivery readiness that was also too ambitious. The Department and HS2 Ltd delayed the first of three formal review points—which tested HS2 Ltd’s readiness to deliver—by ten months because HS2 Ltd would not reach the required level of capability in time. By May 2016, HS2 Ltd had the capability it had planned to reach in July 2015, but did not pass review point 1 owing to concerns about cost and schedule. It is important that HS2 Ltd builds and embeds the organisational capability, and produces fully assured plans to enable it to complete work on schedule, and to gain the delegated authority to deliver the programme efficiently.”
The committee's words, from the inquiry page on parliament.uk ↗.
What it found
The Department for Transport (the Department) and HS2 Ltd have made considerable progress with preparations for High Speed 2 since the previous Committee last reported on the project in 2013. They have issued tender documents for major civil engineering contracts on phase 1 and plan to announce the preferred route for phase 2b later in 2016. However, we are concerned that the Department’s timetable for High Speed 2 is overly ambitious, which is exemplified by the fact that the Department and HS2 Ltd are now looking at delaying the planned opening date for phase 1 by up to 12 months from December 2026 to December 2027. The cost estimates for phase 2 are still volatile and currently exceed available funding by £7 billion. We remain to be convinced that proposed savings of £9 billion can be made without adversely affecting the benefits of the programme. HS2 Ltd’s recent recommendation to the Department that the planned High Speed 2 station in South Yorkshire be moved from Meadowhall to Sheffield Midland station is one example of the significant uncertainty that remains about plans for phase 2. We welcome the Department’s commitment to set out how the UK railways will operate as a single, integrated network, but a great deal of work is still required to integrate plans for High Speed 2 with other rail investment proposals, and with the existing network. Furthermore, greater assurance about sources of funding and finance for regeneration and growth is required to ensure that the promised regional benefits from High Speed 2 materialise.
What the government said
No government response is linked to this report.
How the inquiry ran
Each dot is a dated item listed on this page, from the inquiry's opening on 28 June 2016 to its close on 4 January 2018.
- Oral evidence 11 Jul 2016
- Report 14 Sep 2016
What it recommended
The committee's recommendations are not listed here yet. Read them in 14th Report - Progress with preparations for High Speed 2 ↗ on parliament.uk.
Evidence
Oral evidence sessions 1
- 11 Jul 2016No witnesses recordedparliament.uk ↗