HS2 Ltd has stated that work to connect the project to the West Coast Mainline has been delayed by at least a further four years as part of a fresh ‘reset’ of the overall project.
In a letter to Staffordshire County Council; HS2 Ltd has stated that that construction on the 29km (18 mile) portion of the line North of Birmingham will be further postponed in order to complete the main London-Birmingham route.
A spokesperson for HS2 Ltd said:Mark Wild, our CEO, has been clear that HS2 faces serious cost and schedule challenges. We are resetting the project to get it back on track and address the mistakes of the past.
To support the reset, we are extending an existing deferral on works between Birmingham and Handsacre, where the new railway links with the West Coast Main Line. This will prioritise efforts and resources on the opening section of HS2 between Old Oak Common and Birmingham - getting the construction programme back in the right order.
We remain fully committed to completing the 18-mile stretch north of Birmingham and some essential construction in this area will continue. But this pause will mean that the benefits of HS2 are felt by passengers and businesses as quickly as possible while protecting the use of taxpayers' money.
The project, which received a full ‘reset’ earlier this year, had initially been halted in 2023 to reduce costs – with the pause resulting in the scrapping of the northern half of the project linking Birmingham and Manchester.
UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander previously told parliament that there was ‘no reasonable way to deliver’ on the projects initial 2033 target following an assessment of the line’s progress from HS2 Ltd Chief Executive Mark Wild which stated that the ‘overall situation with respect to cost, schedule and scope is unsustainable’.
