Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee suggests High Speed 2 now offers poor value for money, following Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s cancellation of its planned lines beyond Birmingham.
In a report published on February 7, the committee also questions whether the Department for Transport has a plan for the line, now that it’s been shorn of its northern legs.
Committee Chair Dame Meg Hillier said: “The decision to cancel HS2’s northern leg was a watershed moment that raises urgent and unanswered questions, laid out in our report. “What happens now to the Phase 2 land, some of which has been compulsorily purchased?
“Can we seriously be actively working towards a situation where our high-speed trains are forced to run slower than existing ones when they hit older track?
“Most importantly, how can the Government now ensure that HS2 delivers the best possible value for the taxpayer?’
Hillier added that the project had been crying out for a “steady hand at the tiller from the start”, but that it was now “locked into the costly completion of a curtailed rump of a project” with many unanswered questions and risks.
The report’s six recommendations push for answers to many of Hillier’s questions - for example, calling for HS2’s revised business case to show how the DfT plans to maximise its benefits from what remains of the project.
The committee also wants HS2 to explain its progress in recruit
