HS2

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt (pictured) has dismissed media reports that the HS2 megaproject could scrap its Euston terminus to save money. The Sun claimed that the overall HS2 programme faced a potential delay of up to five years, adding that officials could decide to trim costs on the project by cancelling or delaying…

HS2 minister Huw Merriman has pleaded with firms to rein in costs on the high-speed rail project, while restating the government’s commitment to the programme. During a visit yesterday to the Colne Valley Viaduct, Merriman told Construction News that he was keen to give the HS2 supply chain “the certainty…

A member of the House of Lords has alleged that four of HS2’s senior management, including chief executive Mark Thurston, were aware that the organisation was operating two “parallel” sets of accounts for the project. Lord Tony Berkeley used a debate on whistleblowing in the Lords to accuse the organisation…

HS2 spent a year failing to pay councils more than £40,000 in service fees, meeting minutes have revealed. The rail group signed service level agreements (SLAs) with councils that meant it will pay for any work council staff do on its behalf. Such work includes expenses for planning officers or…

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has reiterated that the government could “balance the books” if it cancelled projects such as HS2, but stressed his support for the scheme. According to a local newspaper, the Express & Star, the chancellor commented on the cost of the scheme during a visit to the site…

HS2 will be delivered in full and the building of the Sizewell C nuclear plant will go ahead, the chancellor has said in his Autumn Statement. Jeremy Hunt confirmed the government’s backing for the megaprojects despite recent speculation following comments from ministers that all major schemes were under review amid…

Huge swathes of HS2 should be abandoned to save the Treasury close to £44bn, a former government transport adviser has urged. Andrew Gilligan, who was part of Boris Johnson’s team when he was prime minister and is a long-time opponent of the project, called for cancellation of all parts of…

One of the top civil servants in charge of HS2 has been moved from the Department for Transport (DfT) to another government ministry. Clive Maxwell, who was director-general of the High Speed Rail Group at the DfT for five years, has been appointed as second permanent secretary at the Department…

Reports of mooted cuts to HS2 have “unsettled” the supply chain and could further drive up costs as companies “price in uncertainty”, the mega-project’s chief executive has said. Scepticism about the ability of HS2 to deliver the high-speed railway within budget has ramped up after an internal report released last…

The number of senior vacancies at HS2 has fallen following a hiring spree on the high-speed rail project, data published by the Department for Transport (DfT) has shown. However, a senior politician has criticised the government for being “asleep at the wheel” over a number of crucial roles that have…