The work to connect HS2 at Euston has been paused (Picture: PA)
The government ‘does not know what it is trying to achieve’ with Euston Station, MPs have warned, as work to connect HS2 is paused.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is calling for the Department for Transport (DfT) to ‘finally establish’ its expectations for the station, as plans for HS2 at Euston have been in the making for eight years.
HS2 Ltd, a government-owned company, first proposed an 11-platform design for Euston in 2015, built in two phases.
Following a review in 2020 these plans were changed to a 10-platform, single-stage design to try and make it simpler and cheaper.
In March it was announced work at Euston would be paused for two years, as the cost of the works had increased from its initial budget of £2.6 billion to £4.8 billion.
During this time, the DfT says it will reassess the project, deciding the minimum requirements for the project and what should be prioritised.
The PAC report said: ‘Despite spending over eight years on planning and designing the HS2 Euston station, the department still does not know what it is trying to achieve with the station.’
Committee chair Dame Meg Hillier added: ‘The HS2 Euston project is floundering. This is a multibillion-pound scheme – which has already caused major disruption to the local community – put on pause.
The ongoing construction work has caused disruption to local businesses (Picture: EPA)
The DfT says it needs to reassess the project (Picture: Vuk Valcic/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock)
‘The pause, ostensibly to save money, is not cost free. Mothballing and possible compensation for businesses which have lost work will all need to be added to the HS2 tally.
‘The government must now be clear what it is trying to achieve with this new station, and how it will benefit the public.
‘Our report finds a wildly unrealistic budget for HS2 Euston was set in 2020 in the expectation that it would be revised.
‘The government must demonstrate it is not just repeating the same mistakes of unrealistic costings.
‘HS2 Euston has shown us forging ahead over-optimistically in an unclear direction is clearly not the right approach.’
HS2 Ltd told the committee it set the ‘wildly unrealistic’ budget in the expectation it would be revised, due to uncertainty around costs.
Previous updates to parliament didn’t disclose that construction costs could be significantly higher than expected – and the PAC has urged the government to provide greater transparency in its future six-monthly progress reports.
The original budget for HS2 was ‘wildly unrealistic’ (Picture: PA)
The project involves integrating HS2 with the existing mainline railway and London Underground.
HS2 was originally scheduled to run from Euston from 2026, but that date has now been pushed back to 2041.
When the railway first opens between London and Birmingham its terminus will be Old Oak Common in west London before extending to Euston.
HS2 is expected to open at some point between 2029 and 2033.
The budget for the entire project was set at £55.7 billion in 2015, but now the cost excluding the phase 2b leg between the West and East Midlands has soared to between £53-61 billion.
A DfT spokeswoman said: ‘We remain committed to delivering HS2 from Euston to Manchester in the most cost-effective way for taxpayers, which is why earlier this year we made the decision to rephase the construction of Euston to help balance the nation’s books and work on an affordable design for the station.
‘The National Audit Office recently acknowledged this will provide time to put the station design on a more stable footing and we continue to work at pace to ensure the transformational benefits of HS2 are delivered to passengers by better connecting our biggest cities, supporting thousands of jobs and helping grow the economy.
‘We note the recommendations made in the committee’s report and will respond to them in due course.’
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