00:00HS2 was meant to cost £32.7 billion and begin operating this year. This includes the now
00:09abandoned onward legs to Leeds and Manchester. Now, constructing HS2 from London to Birmingham
00:16is expected to cost over three times as much as the original full project, and it may take
00:23another 13 years before it begins operating. Trains will also run slower to save money and until well
00:32into the 2040s are expected only to depart from or terminate in Acton, which is on the outskirts of
00:41London around six miles away from the city centre. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the overall
00:48budget does include work to Euston, which has been paused since March 2023, but the government was
00:56still seeking a private investor for the site. The revised cost and schedule for HS2 follows a
01:03comprehensive review by HS2 Limited Chief Executive Mark Wild, who began his role in December 2024.
01:11Labour ministers commissioned an internal review into whether scrapping the entire project would be
01:17better value for money than continuing with it. This found that abandoning the scheme, which has
01:22already cost £44 billion, would require at least the same amount of funding as completing it.
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