HS2: A Fiasco of Epic Proportions

Strategic Insights -

The HS2 project has been embroiled in a web of deceit and mismanagement, with contractors exploiting its owner, HS2 Ltd, to the tune of an astonishing £37 billion since 2012. A recent report by James Stewart, former chief executive of Crossrail, has exposed the depth of the problem, with contracts signed off without design aspects being finalized, and a staggering £250 million wasted on design work for an abandoned Euston station remodeling. The report reveals a culture of extravagance and profligacy, where even a £20,000 Lego model of a station was deemed worthy of taxpayer funding.

Key Takeaways:

  • Costs have been inflated by £37 billion since 2012, with over £250 million wasted on abandoned design work for Euston station remodeling.
  • Contracts were signed off without design aspects being finalized, potentially constituting outright fraud.
  • HS2 Ltd has been too gullible to prevent itself from being ripped off, with contractors exploiting its owner to drive up costs.
  • A risk assessor, Stephen Cresswell, was shown the door in 2022 for raising concerns about the ballooning HS2 bill, and was later awarded £319,000 compensation for unfair dismissal.
  • The official estimate for the final cost of HS2 is between £45 billion and £54 billion, but many fear it will cost over £100 billion.
  • HS2 was initially designed to be the fastest train service in the world, despite connecting cities less than 200 miles apart, resulting in unnecessary earthworks and demolitions.
  • The project's costs per mile are multiples of what other countries spend on similar high-speed lines, such as the Paris to Strasbourg line completed in 2007.
  • Then-prime minister David Cameron and chancellor George Osborne waved through HS2 as a fully taxpayer-funded project in 2012 while cutting public services to reduce the budget deficit.
  • The government has continuously increased funding for HS2 despite its poor record of cost control and extravagant spending.

Statistics:

  • £37 billion: the amount of costs inflated since 2012.
  • £250 million: the amount wasted on abandoned design work for Euston station remodeling.
  • £20,000: the amount paid for a Lego model of a station.
  • £45 billion - £54 billion: the official estimate for the final cost of HS2.
  • £100 billion+: feared costs of HS2.
  • 2022: the year Stephen Cresswell was shown the door for raising concerns about HS2 costs.
  • £319,000: the amount of compensation awarded to Stephen Cresswell for unfair dismissal.
  • 30 years: the amount of time the Stonehenge tunnel project has been in the making, eventually canceled due to cost overruns.
  • £1 billion: the cost of the Stonehenge tunnel project.
  • 20%: the amount by which the Channel Tunnel project sailed over its budget.

Sources:

  • James Stewart, former chief executive of Crossrail, "Report on HS2"
  • Rachel Reeves, Labour MP, "Budget 2022"
  • David Cameron, former prime minister, "Statement on HS2"
  • George Osborne, former chancellor, "Budget 2012"