Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 18, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleUK's HS2 rail project faces delays beyond 2033 due to cost overruns, with the northern section already canceled. The government aims to reset and control costs.
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's new high speed railway line, HS2, which will connect London to the central English city of Birmingham, will be delayed beyond the 2033 opening date previously targeted, transport minister Heidi Alexander said on Wednesday.
The project has been beset by cost overruns and delays since it was approved in 2012. Two years ago, its ballooning budget forced the previous government to cancel the northern half of the project between Birmingham and Manchester.
Originally expected to open by 2026 and cost 33 billion pounds ($44 billion), its cost has since spiralled to an estimated bill of over 100 billion pounds.
Alexander said she expected to have an update on costs and when the line will open at the end of the year.
HS2 was designed to add capacity and help Britain catch up with other European countries which have extensive high speed tracks but Alexander said the project had been derailed by a lack of cost control, leadership and clarity.
"This must be a line in the sand," she said in a statement. "This government is delivering HS2 from Birmingham to London after years of mismanagement, flawed reporting and ineffective oversight."
Alexander said the project was being reset, with the aim of incentivising suppliers to make savings and a renegotiation of construction contracts.
Elected in 2024, the Labour government has put speeding up the planning process to deliver new energy and transport projects at the heart of its growth agenda. It has backed expansion at London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
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(Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by James Davey and Catarina Demony)
The HS2 project will be delayed beyond the previously targeted opening date of 2033.
The project has faced cost overruns and delays since its approval in 2012, with its budget ballooning from an initial estimate of 33 billion pounds to over 100 billion pounds.
The government plans to reset the project, incentivize suppliers to make savings, and renegotiate construction contracts to address the issues.
Elected in 2024, the Labour government has made speeding up the planning process for new energy and transport projects a key part of its growth agenda.
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