Review of High Speed Two (HS2) including programme governance, delivery update, benefits, community impacts, land and property.
Overview
Today (17 July 2025) I am publishing this government's second update to Parliament on the progress of High Speed Two (HS2).
In my previous report , I set out the difficult position that we inherited. HS2 has suffered from repeated cost increases and delays for too long. Although there have been external factors outside of the programme's control, it has also been mismanaged. It is now clear that cost estimates were overly optimistic and the programme moved to construction too quickly when designs were still immature. Delivery of the programme has not been sufficiently controlled, with a poorly performing supply chain that was insufficiently incentivised. There have been repeated changes in policy, scope and funding and excessive costs incurred in achieving environmental and planning compliance. This means delayed benefits and cost increases incurred on HS2 have diverted billions of pounds from other vital transport priorities.
This is unacceptable, the cycle of cost increases and delays must be broken and I am determined to achieve this. The project is now under new leadership, and I have tasked HS2 Ltd's new CEO, Mark Wild, with leading a comprehensive reset of the programme. He is making progress, but this is a huge task, and we need to ensure he has a robust plan for delivering the programme to completion in a controlled way and at the lowest reasonable cost. To this end, the department will work with him and HS2 Ltd over the coming months to advise me on the decisions needed to reset HS2, with the aim of providing an updated delivery baseline and funding envelope in 2026. Until this work is completed, this government is not in a position to say with confidence how much HS2 will cost or when it will be delivered. That is a deeply unsatisfactory position, but it is necessary to complete the hard work we have embarked upon.
Effective ministerial oversight will be at the heart of this reset. The Rail Minister and I meet regularly with Mark Wild to assess progress and in March, I chaired a meeting of the Ministerial Task Force with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, focusing on completing the programme in a controlled way. In June, I appointed Mike Brown as the new Chair of the HS2 Ltd Board to help us drive effective oversight and accountability on the programme. Both Mark Wild and Mike Brown have experience in major project recovery from Crossrail, which will be invaluable to this task. Mike's immediate priorities will include supporting Mark and strengthening the challenge that the Board provides to HS2 Ltd, to complement ministerial oversight.
The reset needs to be guided by the lessons learned from HS2's delivery to date. In June, I published the major transport projects governance and assurance review , led by James Stewart. This report set out recommendations and actions that we are taking to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, helping to bring HS2 under control and to improve the delivery of future infrastructure projects.
The government's determination to now see this programme delivered as efficiently as possible is underpinned by the allocation of £25.3 billion (nominal prices) of funding over 4 years in the Spending Review, as set out in the financial annex.
Despite the evident challenges, HS2 Ltd, its suppliers and over 33,000 workers have maintained steady progress on construction, achieving major delivery milestones since my last report.
HS2 will foster economic growth in support of this government's mission. Research commissioned by HS2 Ltd has found that the prospective arrival of HS2 is already leading to redevelopment around new HS2 stations, demonstrating the early potential of this scheme to act as a catalyst for investment in businesses, new jobs and homes. The research estimates that the programme will deliver economic uplifts of £10 billion in the West Midlands and £10 billion around Old Oak Common station in west London over the next 10 years.
Delivering an HS2 station at Euston remains a priority to realise the programme's benefits. Following our commitment to funding the tunnelling required to bring HS2 to central London, we continue to work with key partners to develop affordable, integrated plans for the Euston station campus alongside significant levels of local development, including housing and life sciences institutions. In parallel, we recently announced that a Euston Delivery Company will be established to oversee the development of the whole Euston campus, which will comprise the new HS2 station, an upgraded Network Rail station and enhancements to the London Underground station and local transport facilities, along with a significant level of development. We welcome the joint venture that The Crown Estate has announced with Lendlease, our development partner at Euston. As set out in the 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy , we are exploring the use of private capital to design, build, finance and maintain the HS2 station.
Finally, beyond individual rail schemes, the rail network must be viewed as a whole. HS2 will play a key part in our ambition to improve rail for passengers, with its services and benefits extending far beyond London and Birmingham, including the capacity it releases for other regional and London services.
Delivery update
Schedule and cost
As I set out in the House of Commons on 18 June, based on Mark Wild's initial advice, I see no route by which trains can be running by 2033 as previously planned. Mark has committed to establishing and delivering to a new baseline in 2026. Once this work is complete, we will have an agreed estimate of how much the project will cost and when it will be delivered.
Whilst the reset is ongoing, the department is managing HS2 Ltd through strengthened in-year controls, including challenging targets and metrics to deliver within annual budgets. To drive in-year delivery performance, an enhanced level of governance and assurance has also been implemented, reflecting the recommendations of James Stewart's review.
This year, HS2 Ltd has rescheduled some work to ensure it operates within its annual financial settlement.
Expenditure
To the end of April 2025, £40.5 billion (nominal prices) had been spent on the HS2 programme. This is provided in more detail in the financial annex, based on data provided by HS2 Ltd.
Spend to date information covers the period up to the end of April 2025. Unless stated otherwise, all figures are presented in nominal prices.
Following the recent conclusion of the Spending Review, the department has reached a settlement with HM Treasury to fund the delivery of HS2, with £25.3 billion (nominal prices) covering financial years 2026 to 2027 to 2029 to 2030.
This funding will enable the reset of the HS2 programme under the leadership of Mark Wild, addressing longstanding delivery challenges. It will enable HS2 to move forward with a more secure delivery plan and will support progress at the lowest reasonable cost.
This settlement will support the continued delivery of Phase 1, providing funding for works from Old Oak Common to Birmingham Curzon Street and Handsacre Junction, Euston Tunnels and Approaches and Euston Station enabling works.
The HS2 programme is currently in a period of high spend, with much of it in active construction. The department expects HS2 Ltd's expenditure to become noticeably lower over the next Spending Review period as delivery of the programme progresses.
The department has updated its reporting of historic programme expenditure from 2019 prices to nominal prices. Once the programme reset is complete and a new baseline agreed, HS2 Ltd will also uplift the price base for programme reporting and for the revised cost estimate. The department will consider how often the price base should be uplifted until the end of the programme.
Construction progress
Over 70% of HS2's 32 miles of bored and mined tunnels between London and Birmingham have now been completed.
Construction is progressing across the route, with active works underway on 44 viaducts, 126 bridges, 75 embankments and 60 cuttings.
The Northolt Tunnels, which will link Old Oak Common Station to West Ruislip, were recently completed. Constructed in 2 phases - East and West - the tunnels were excavated using 4 tunnel boring machines (TBMs). TBMs Sushila and Caroline completed mining the western section in April 2025, while mining on the eastern section, led by TBMs Emily and Anne, was completed at the end of June 2025.
In May, the first Bromford Tunnel broke through, connecting Warwickshire to Birmingham, marking the completion of the first section of the 3.5-mile tunnel.
In April, a 14,500-tonne box structure that will carry the high-speed line was successfully installed under the A46. The installation utilised innovative civil and structural engineering techniques, which involved constructing the box on land before pushing it across a guiding raft over 64 metres into place.
Over 8.5 million cubic metres of soil have been excavated, representing 73% of the total planned earthworks.
In February, the first viaduct in the Delta Junction in North Warwickshire was completed, marking both a significant milestone in the construction of HS2 in the region and the first use of an innovative giant cantilever system in the UK.
At Interchange Station in Solihull, enabling works have commenced on site, including surveys and ground investigations to inform the detailed design.
The 'systems and service' tender was launched in February 2025 for the Automated People Mover (APM), which will provide connectivity between Interchange Station, the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham International Station and Birmingham Airport.
At Curzon Street Station in central Birmingham, piling works continue to progress with only the western section remaining. For this financial year, the focus will be on completing the design before construction starts next year. The updated Schedule 17 planning consents for the revised station designs were approved by Birmingham City Council on 8 May 2025. Schedule 17 of the High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Act 2017 establishes a process for the approval of matters related to the design and construction of the railway. It requires HS2 Ltd to seek approval from the appropriate planning authority, in this case, Birmingham City Council. This approval shall allow HS2 Ltd to construct the station with improvements to the visuals of the station and refinements to the long-term maintenance requirements.
At Old Oak Common Station in west London, the tunnel boring machines are being assembled with preparations currently underway to enable their launch towards Euston in spring 2026.
In November 2024, we reached a key milestone with the award of the rail systems contracts worth around £3 billion in current prices. The contracts commenced in February 2025, but work on site will not start until main works civils are largely complete. Procurement of the Washwood Heath Depot and the National Integrated Control Centre continues.
Lessons from the contracting failures of HS2's main works programme have been firmly embedded in the systems contracts. The design of rail systems is more advanced at this stage than it was for main works civils, giving better cost certainty. HS2 Ltd has established an alliance with stronger incentives to ensure suppliers share risk, allowing us to manage costs better and drive performance. The contracts require fewer consents to be granted as well.
Mobilisation on the rail systems contract has started and timelines are being developed in line with the wider programme challenges noted elsewhere in this report. There will be a formal review at the end of the design stage to make sure all parties are ready to start work on site, again learning from main works civils.
Euston
The department continues to work with key partners to develop affordable, integrated plans for the Euston station campus. In parallel, enabling works are continuing to ready the HS2 station site for the main construction programme.
In terms of the delivery model, the government announced in its 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy that a Euston Delivery Company will be established to oversee the development of the whole Euston campus. The new delivery model will involve a changed role for HS2 Ltd but will go much broader than that to address historical challenges at the site. HS2 Ltd will remain a key partner, continuing to carry out important work at Euston.
The department also continues to work with partners to examine available delivery and private finance options that will realise the great regeneration potential of the Euston area alongside the improvement of transport links.
Specifically, the department is exploring options for various elements of the programme to be funded through a combination of private finance, development receipts, and potential local contributions such as tax increment financing, with a degree of residual public funding. The department has been engaging closely with HM Treasury and the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority as it continues to develop its plans, and has appointed specialist advisors to ensure it has access to expert support.
As we progress our plans to reinitiate delivery, we are embedding the recommendations of James Stewart's review through the new delivery model and working closely with partners to manage risks sensibly and collectively. We will continue to work with key partners with the aim of restarting design later this year. No final decisions have been made regarding the preferred mechanisms to securing funding and finance, including private finance options;
