The Briefing Room

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David Aaronovitch presents in-depth explainers on big issues in the news.

David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts and insiders present in-depth explainers on big issues in the news.

David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts and insiders present in-depth explainers on big issues in the news

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The Briefing Room: HS2: On Track?

26/08/2021

HS2: On Track?

BBC Radio 4 - The Briefing Room, HS2: On Track?

How is HS2 progressing and are spiralling costs threatening its completion?

HS2 will deliver ‘a new anatomy of British transport’, according to the Prime Minister. But how is work on it progressing and will a potential £100bn bill jeopardise its completion?

HS2, a high-speed railway linking up London, the Midlands and the North of England has been in development for more than a decade. It was described by Boris Johnson as the ‘spine’ of a new network to deal with the ‘great musculoskeletal problem of UK transport’. The ‘spine’ is costing an arm and a leg. 

In 2012 the project was priced at £32.7bn. That was revised to £55bn in 2015. Last year a review by civil engineer Doug Oakervee said the final figure could top £100bn. The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has already warned that Covid has severely damaged public finances and that will likely impact decisions made in the comprehensive spending review taking place this autumn. 

So how is HS2 progressing and is its completion threatened by its rising costs?

Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are -

Nick Kingsley, Managing Editor of Railway Gazette International
Bridget Rosewell, Commissioner, National Infrastructure Commission
George Parker, political editor at the Financial Times
Tony Travers, Professor in the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics


Producers: Ben Carter, Kirsteen Knight and Sharon Hemans
Editor: Jasper Corbett
Sound Engineer: Neil Churchill

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