HS2 may not run through to central London - report

The authorities says it is committed to delivering the HS2 obstruction enactment to Manchester aft a study the strategy whitethorn nary longer scope cardinal London.

The Sun reported that rising ostentation and operation costs meant HS2 trains whitethorn terminate successful the suburbs of westbound London instead.

The insubstantial said bosses were considering pushing backmost its Euston terminus to 2038, oregon scrapping it completely.

The authorities has not denied the report.

The determination would mean trains would tally from a caller hub astatine Old Oak Common, astir 8km (five miles) away, and commuters would person to usage the Elizabeth Line oregon Tube to question to cardinal London.

A 2 to five-year hold to the full task is besides being considered, the paper said.

A Department for Transport (DfT) spokesperson said the authorities remained committed to "delivering HS2 to Manchester, arsenic confirmed successful the Autumn Statement".

HS2, oregon High Speed 2, was primitively intended to link London with Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.

The limb to Leeds has since been scrapped.

Work connected the archetypal signifier of the task - betwixt London and Birmingham - is good nether mode and that portion of the enactment is owed to unfastened by 2033.

But the task has faced delays and mounting concerns implicit the nonstop way and its imaginable biology impact.

Pressure radical Stop HS2 said it believed the task would summation c emissions and harm areas of earthy beauty. Protesters, including seasoned eco-protester Swampy, person built tunnels successful an effort to disrupt HS2 construction.

The estimated outgo of HS2 was betwixt £72bn and £98bn astatine 2019 prices. A fund of £55.7bn for the full of HS2 was acceptable successful 2015 - but this was made earlier the Leeds limb was cancelled.

A study published past October recovered it was improbable that the £40.3bn people for the archetypal conception of the enactment would beryllium met.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper has said HS2 was "experiencing precocious levels of inflation" and it was moving with "suppliers actively to mitigate inflationary increases".

Research from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and Office for National Statistics published successful September showed that operation materials crossed the UK experienced ostentation of 18% from August 2021 to August 2022.

Mr Harper said ostentation was not affecting the "overall affordability of HS2 successful existent terms" but it was "creating pressures against its existing yearly backing settlements".

The caput of the National Infrastructure Commission told BBC News successful November that cutting backmost connected the HS2 obstruction way would beryllium "silly".

"I deliberation you've got monolithic investment, which has happened successful Birmingham up of HS2 - it conscionable shows what tin happen. And Manchester of people arsenic is present seeing concern disconnected the backmost of HS2. I deliberation that would beryllium a precise unusual decision," helium said.

A elder fig astatine the DfT warned past week that "quite pugnacious decisions" could prevarication up for the scheme.