Spending watchdogs have told the government that it has “wasted enough time and money” on a new HS2 terminus at London’s Euston station, as predicted costs rise to nearly £5bn.
There is to be a two-year pause on building at Euston after transport secretary Mark Harper said this month that soaring inflation had forced a rethink of the £100bn high-speed rail line’s timetable.
HS2 Ltd, which is overseeing the project, has spent £548m on extending the station and has a budget of £2.6bn to complete the work. Its most recent estimate of the cost was £4.8bn.
The plans for Euston were redrawn in 2020 after a review raised concerns. But Gareth Davies, head of the National Audit Office, has told the government: “Clearly, the 2020 reset of the station design has not succeeded.”
Meg Hillier, who chairs the Commons public accounts committee, said Euston was “still unaffordable and no further forward than it was three years ago”. She added: “The Department for Transport and HS2 Ltd have wasted enough time and money. They must get Euston right next time or risk squandering what benefits remain.”
The NAO said the redevelopment of Euston needed to be put on “a more realistic and stable footing”.
