Estimated cost of building the first phase of High Speed 2 between London and Birmingham may be as high as ￡40Bn - which is nearly ￡13Bn more than the available funding - according to a review of the rail scheme by the National Audit Office. Completion of phase one could come as late as 2036, which would be 10 years later than originally planned. The report also finds that the first phase may achieve only ￡1 of wider economic benefit for every ￡1 spent, which the Department for Transport considers to represent low value for money. The overall cost for the complete High Speed 2 network towards Crewe, Leeds and Manchester could now reach ￡88Bn, the report adds, which would be 58% more than the funding available.
展开▼
