Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Sixty-Third Report - HS2 Euston
Public Accounts Committee
HC 1004
Published 7 July 2023
Recommendations
25
Acknowledged
Department has not demonstrably embedded lessons learned into major rail programmes
Recommendation
We concluded in our 2021 progress update on Crossrail that the Department had still not demonstrated that it is embedding lessons learned into its major programmes.62 When we asked the Department again about learning lessons, the Department and HS2 Ltd …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation to embed lessons learned, stating it has a strong culture of learning from major rail programmes, works with the IPA, and applies lessons across HS2 phases through various initiatives, aiming for implementation by Summer 2025.
HM Treasury
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Conclusions (3)
24
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Department’s failures around budgeting, cost estimation and integration on the Euston project are not new. We have reported on these as part of our examination of other major rail programmes over the years. For example, on the Thameslink Programme, this committee found in 2018 that Network Rail did not …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledged the committee's observation about past failures, stating it fosters a strong culture of learning lessons from major rail programmes and is applying them across HS2, including specific initiatives and sharing insights with less mature projects.
26
Conclusion
Acknowledged
In terms of what it has learned from Euston, the Department told us that there are lessons on cost estimation, the treatment of contingency and managing integration on large and complex stations. These are all issues we have seen before on other major programmes, including those overseen by the Department. …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledged the committee's observation regarding lessons learned from Euston, stating it fosters a culture of learning and will apply these lessons, particularly sharing insights with projects like Manchester Piccadilly and Birmingham Curzon Street.
27
Conclusion
Acknowledged
In comparison the Department and HS2 Ltd noted that other HS2 stations may be less complex or already more advanced in their progress than Euston, such as Curzon Street in Birmingham, where HS2 Ltd told us that the civil works is 40% complete. In the case of the more advanced …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledged the committee's observation about drawing lessons from more advanced stations, stating it actively shares learning from mature projects like Birmingham Curzon Street with less mature ones such as Euston and Manchester Piccadilly.