Minister says she will sort out HS2 and confirms opening will be delayed

A minister has pledged to “sort out” the “appalling mess” of HS2 and confirmed the railway’s opening will be further delayed.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told the Commons there is “no route” to meet the target date of having HS2 services running by 2033.

The project has suffered repeated delays and soaring costs despite being scaled back.

Ms Alexander said: “It’s an appalling mess, but it’s one we will sort out.

“We need to set targets which we can confidently deliver, that the public can trust, and that will take time.

“But rest assured, where there are inefficiencies, we will root them out.”

The Cabinet minister said an interim report by Mark Wild, the chief executive of HS2 Ltd, who was appointed late last year, “lays bare the shocking mismanagement of the project under previous governments”.

She added: “He stated, in no uncertain terms, the overall project with respect of cost, schedule and scope is unsustainable.

“Based on his advice, I see no route by which trains can be running by 2033 as planned.

“He reveals costs will continue to increase if not taken in hand, further outstripping the budget set by the previous government.

“And he cannot be certain that all cost pressures have yet been identified.”

Ms Alexander said she is “drawing a line in the sand, calling time on years of mismanagement, flawed reporting and ineffective oversight”.

The Transport Secretary claimed the word “affordable” was “clearly not part of the HS2 lexicon”.

She went on: “This Government will get the job done between Birmingham and London.

“We won’t reinstate cancelled sections we can’t afford, but we will do the hard but necessary work to rebuild public trust.”

Published: 18/06/2025 by Radio NewsHubClick here to read this story in full at Radio News Hub