How HS2 caused the UK to lose focus on 'levelling up' during years of high-speed rail delays

• Pressure on the UK government to confirm its plans for the controversial HS2 high-speed rail project is growing as the Conservative party prepares for its annual conference.
• Much of the country is keen to hear about the fate of HS2.
• The UK’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, are weighing up the rising costs versus the benefits of HS2.

The rising costs of HS2

• Over the decade since 2013, when construction commenced on the first phase of HS2, it has come under regular scrutiny because of rising costs.
• At £300 million per mile, this is considerably higher than typical costs for constructing high-speed rail in Europe, according to analysis by The Times.
• With an estimated cost of £37.5 billion in 2013 (at 2009 prices), HS2 represented considerable public investment to achieve what’s now commonly referred to as “levelling up”.
• Government support for HS2 to achieve wealth creation outside the capital continued, however.
• The David Cameron-led government supposedly saw HS2 as a “counterbalance” to extreme “local austerity”.

Unachievable

• According to leaked analysis carried out by the DfT last year, increasing costs means HS2 will “deliver just 90 pence in economic benefit for every £1 it costs”.
• But these links could be built faster and cheaper than HS2.