00:00In March, the new CEO of HS2, Mark Wilde, was tasked with finding ways to save the taxpayer cash and
00:08speed up construction time, including by reducing the speed of trains.
00:14HS2 was originally designed to run at 360 km per hour, faster than any trains in the world.
00:23Ministers are now considering reducing this to 320 km per hour, or just under 200 mph, as part of steps
00:33to build it out faster.
00:34In his review of the project, Sir Stephen Longrove is expected to list the original sins of the scheme, including
00:43the original gold plating of the high-speed concept,
00:47with a focus on the highest possible speeds, resulting in bespoke and highly engineered design.
00:54He will also hit out at the decision to begin construction at the hardest point of the route between London
01:01and the Midlands.
01:02Changing objectives and political priorities, as well as the level of costs and risk, quote-unquote, being very badly underestimated,
01:14are also set to come under fire in the report.
01:18The government source said the Longrove report further confirms the astonishing extent to which previous governments had totally lost control
01:28of HS2.
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