Recommendation 8

The Government’s latest range of estimated costs for Phase 1 is £35–45 billion (2019 prices).12 For Phase 2a the range is £5.2–7.2 billion (2019 prices). The latest updated 6 Committee of Public Accounts, High Speed 2: Spring 2020 update, Third Report of Session 2019–21, HC 84, 17 May 2020, conclusions 1 and 2; para 6; HM Treasury, Treasury Minutes, CP 270, July 2020 7 Qq 5–6 8 Qq 5, 15, 17 9 Written statement to Parliament, HS2 6-monthly report to Parliament: March 2021, 23 March 2021 10 Q 10 11 HS2 Ltd told us that the two-year commissioning period does not have a separate cost attached as it is time- based cost for the combination of contractors involved. The work includes systems integration and dynamic testing, leading into the trial operations of both the rolling stock and stations. 12 Written statement to Parliament, HS2 6-monthly report to Parliament: March 2021, 23 March 2021 HS2 Summer 2021 11 forecast range for opening Phase 2a for services is 2030–2034.13 The Department told us that it expected the cost range and the schedule range for Phase 2a to be set in 2023.14 The current cost range for Phase 2b is £32–46 billion (2019 prices), meaning that the full railway could cost as much as £98 billion.15