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The future HS2 high-speed rail line could exceed its budget by nearly £ 30 billion, the project chairman said.
Allan Cook wrote to Bernadette Kelly, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Transport, to inform her that the high-speed line from London could not be completed within the official budget of £ 56 billion. reported the Financial Times.
The paper indicated that, according to Cook's preliminary findings, the final cost of the infrastructure project could be £ 70-85 billion.
A source close to the project told the newspaper that costs had risen due to a "combination of poor field conditions encountered during surveying work, construction costs of a railway. with very high specifications, and additional costs at even higher speeds than other comparable railway projects ".
HS2, whose opening is scheduled between late 2026 and 2033, will extend from Euston Station in London to Birmingham in its first phase, then to Leeds and Manchester.
Cook was asked to take control of the project in December, following the departure of Sir Terry Morgan, who also stepped down as President of Crossrail.
Last month, Transportation Secretary Chris Grayling revealed that Mr. Cook had rebadessed costs and time overruns and planned to cut costs.
"I'm really waiting for Allan [Cook] back to me to say that this is how we will move the project forward, "he told New Civil Engineer magazine.
Boris Johnson, the favorite to succeed Theresa May as Prime Minister next week, has named Douglas Oakervee, a former HS2 president, to look at the scope and costs of the project.
A spokesman for HS2 said the group had not commented on the leaks.
"We have already noted that our president, as you can imagine, continues to scrutinize the program and reports regularly to the ministry," he said.
"We are committed to providing a railway that rebalances the economy, creates jobs, boosts economic growth and optimizes resources for taxpayers."
The Ministry of Transport said Cook would provide his latest badysis "in due course".
Last week, HS2 announced that it had abandoned its first search for a contractor to build its station in Birmingham, as companies did not want to badume the £ 435 million projected cost risk. HS2 said it would rethink the supply process of the new Curzon Street subway station.
This comes after Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, has called for a "Crossrail for Manchester-type scenario," in which lines would be built under the city center to help people cross it.
Speaking Friday at an event on the future of rail in northern England, he said: "The government still seems to be short of money at the moment to reach the north. Why are they trying to build HS2 on the surface here? The only answer I can give you is: because they can.
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