HS2 Reset: UK High-Speed Rail Project Overhaul & Mismanagement

HS2, meant to link major UK cities, has been a "litany of failure". Over 15 years, costs soared by £37 billion, public trust was lost, and sections were cancelled. This episode explores the government's "reset", with new leadership (Mark Wild, Mike Brown) and acceptance of all James Stewart review recommendations for oversight, cost control, and capability. Supply chain fraud allegations are also being investigated. Focus is on completing the Birmingham-London section safely and affordably.

Key Takeaways:

• HS2 costs rose £37 billion; £2 billion on cancelled Phase 2 wasted.
• Project plagued by poor management, flawed reporting, and ineffective oversight.
• New leadership (Mark Wild, Mike Brown) appointed.
• Government accepted all 89 James Stewart review recommendations for governance, costs, and skills.
• Euston station designs failed, wasting over £250m; ministerial taskforce never met.
• Supply chain fraud allegations under rigorous investigation.
• Project "unsustainable" on cost/schedule; 2033 target for trains running unlikely.

Important Definitions and Concepts:

• HS2 Reset: A major initiative to reform the HS2 high-speed rail project, addressing past mismanagement and cost overruns to complete the Birmingham-London line effectively.
• James Stewart Review: An independent report recommending improvements for Department for Transport and government major project delivery; all recommendations accepted.

Discussion and Reflection Question: Given HS2's challenges, what critical steps can restore public trust and ensure responsible, on-budget delivery of future large-scale national infrastructure projects?

Source: HS2 Reset
Volume 769: debated on Wednesday 18 June 2025

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No outside chatter: source material only taken from Hansard and the Parliament UK website.  

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Transcript

Amy 0:00

Hello and welcome again to The Bench Report. You're listening to Amy and Ivan. Today, we're looking at the long and often difficult journey of HS2. It kicked off about 15 years ago, didn't it? With this really bold vision for the UK.

Ivan 0:17

Absolutely. The idea was, you know, link up major cities, tackle the rail capacity problems everyone knew were coming, and be part of this global high-speed revolution.

Amy 0:27

And it was meant to really boost opportunity, especially in the Midlands and the North.

Ivan 0:31

That was the vision. But the reality we've seen unfold is quite different. It's been called a litany of failure. which is strong wording.

Amy 0:39

Strong, but maybe justified. We've seen timelines slip, routes changed, then canceled.

Ivan 0:45

Budgets blown completely out of proportion, promises made, and then, well, broken. It's been about a decade and a half of this pattern.

Amy 0:51

And the costs are staggering, aren't

Ivan 0:53

they? They really are. Phase one, just London to Birmingham, might end up being one of the most expensive railways per mile in the world. Costs potentially jumping by, what, 37 billion pounds?

Amy 1:04

Wow. And then there was the money spent on phase two, the northern parts.

Ivan 1:07

Around two billion pounds of taxpayer money spent on planning and early work for the sections that are now canceled entirely.

Amy 1:13

It doesn't paint a great picture, does it? It kind of feeds this narrative that the UK struggles with these huge infrastructure projects.

Ivan 1:21

Exactly. Which brings us to the current situation. The government says it's committed to drawing a line in the sand, a fundamental reset.

Amy 1:29

And part of that reset is new leadership.

Ivan 1:32

That's right. Mark Wilde is the new CEO, Mike Brown, the new chairman. And, you know, they both have that background from Crossrail, the Elizabeth line.

Amy 1:39

Which itself had its share of problems, but did eventually open successfully. So the hope is they can bring that experience here.

Ivan 1:45

Definitely. And crucial to this reset was an independent review by James Stewart looking into exactly why major projects like this struggle.

Amy 1:53

And its findings were accepted. What were the key areas?

Ivan 1:56

Yes, fully accepted. Five main things. First, oversight. The review found, and I quote, too many dark corners for failure to hide. Basically, accountability was murky.

Amy 2:06

So things like ministers not consistently Showing up to oversight meetings.

Ivan 2:11

Precisely. That's being addressed now. Second, cost control. Obvious, given the spiraling budget. They're changing how HS2 estimates costs and reworking supplier contracts to ideally incentivize savings.

Amy 2:24

Makes sense. What else?

Ivan 2:26

Third, capability and trust. There was apparently a fundamental lack of trust between the Department for Transport and HS2 LTD itself. So building up skills within the organization is vital.

Amy 2:37

Okay. Number four.

Ivan 2:38

Houston Station. This one is pretty shocking. Over a quarter of a billion pounds wasted on two different designs for the London Inn that ultimately failed.

Amy 2:47

A quarter of a billion just on designs.

Ivan 2:49

Just on designs. And apparently a previous government task force set up specifically for Houston, well, it never actually met.

Amy 2:55

That's not quite something.

Ivan 2:56

Isn't it? The government has now committed funding for the tunnel needed to get trains from Old O'Common into Houston. So there's movement there.

Amy 3:03

And the final point.

Ivan 3:04

The fifth is broader. Transforming infrastructure delivery across the board. Using the He's... quite painful lessons from HS2 to improve how all major government projects are handled in future.

Amy 3:16

So despite all this effort to reset, the new CEO, Mark Wilde, gave a pretty stark assessment recently.

Ivan 3:23

Extremely frank. He basically said the project as it stands is unsustainable, cost, schedule, scope, all of it. He doesn't see trains running by the planned 2033 date.

Amy 3:34

Not exactly confidence inspiring. And then there are these fraud allegations swirling around the supply chain.

Ivan 3:40

Yeah. Yes, serious allegations, which HMRC, the tax authority, is investigating thoroughly. So add that to the list of challenges.

Amy 3:47

It really is an appalling mess, as some have called it. Yet the government insists the London to Birmingham part will be finished.

Ivan 3:54

That's the commitment. Alongside this, you have political debate acknowledging past mistakes, arguments about how much things like the pandemic pushed up costs globally.

Amy 4:03

And discussions about the Network North plan using the money saved from canceling the Northern Leg for other transport improvement.

Ivan 4:09

Exactly. Ongoing disruption for communities along the route, questions about fare compensation, and these specific legal or environmental hurdles, like that 95 million bat tunnel.

Amy 4:19

The bat tunnel really captured public attention, didn't it? Highlighting the complexities.

Ivan 4:24

It did. And it makes you look at how other countries, maybe like France or Spain, seem to deliver high-speed rail more efficiently. Perhaps better integration of planning stages.

Amy 4:34

It's a complex picture. But the stated aim remains. Deliver London to Birmingham, try to rebuild that reputation for delivering world-class infrastructure.

Ivan 4:46

So looking ahead, not just for HS2, but for any big UK project, maybe the key question is, what are the absolute must-learn lessons from this whole experience to ensure projects are efficient, transparent, and actually deliver what the public needs?

Amy 4:59

As always, find us on social media at BenchReportUK. Get in touch with any topic important to you.

Ivan 5:04

Remember, politics is everyone's business. Take care.