HS2 lied to parliament about cost, says peer

HS2 could cost more than £100bn and will not deliver as much value to the economy as claimed. According to Lord Berkeley, the former deputy chairman of the official review into the high-speed rail link, HS2 may only deliver 60p of benefits for every pound spent. He claims that the government’s leaked but as yet unpublished Oakervee review has deliberately attempted to paint a rosier picture than the reality. Lord Berkeley, a rail engineer, has published his own assessment, which states: “From the evidence I have seen, I believe that parliament was misled on the question of HS2 costs and that it is highly unlikely that, if it had been given the real cost figures by the Department of Transport, it would have passed the legislation to allow the project to proceed.” He adds that the “costs are out of control, the benefits are overstated and that it potentially will not be delivered to Leeds and Manchester for another 20 years.” He suggests that government departments knew that costs were spiralling but colluded to prevent this being publicised. His report states that the revenues claimed for the project are based on 18 very high speed trains per hour, “unachievable anywhere on the continent or Japan”. Officials have poured cold water on the claims. The Times (£) The FT (£) The Guardian