Report lists lessons to be learned from HS2

That’s according to the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), which has published a report setting out lessons to be learned in the wake of the decision.

Former Prime Minister Rish Sunak announced in October 2023 that the section of HS2 running from Birmingham to Manchester would be scrapped after costs rose and business travel patterns changed following the pandemic.

Prior to the move, HS2’s cost had risen to over £106 billion, according to a 2020 estimate, and an eastern link to Leeds had already been scrapped.

It called for clearer plans for transport infrastructure in the future and set out some key lessons for Sir Keir Starmer’s new government, elected in July, to learn with more large-scale projects imminent.

Among the lessons in the ICE’s paper, entitled ‘The Cancellation of HS2’s Northern leg – learning the lessons’ were that the intended outcomes of infrastructure projects have to be clearly communicated.

It also called for more clarity around who is in charge of projects, and for large-scale schemes to spend more time in development so that they are based on mature designs, rather than concepts.

Professor CK Mak, honorary professor at the University of Hong Kong, who chaired the paper’s steering group, said, “Political and public support for infrastructure projects is more important than ever. Understanding why a flagship project like HS2 failed and what needs to be done differently is relevant not just for the UK, but for governments all over the world.”

Could part of the billion-dollar HS2 rail project be revived? With the Labour Party now in power in the UK, what might happen with the problematic HS2 project?

HS2 downgrade has cost UK taxpayers more than £2 billion The UK government’s decision last year to cut back the HS2 high speed rail link has cost taxpayers more than £2 billion (US$2.6 billion)