Transport secretary Heidi Alexander has announced that the maximum speed of trains on HS2 will be 320km/h, instead of 360km/h.

The cost of the line is now expected to be somewhere between £87.7 million and £102.7 billion.

The transport secretary said she was setting out plans for a ‘fundamental reset’, which was intended to complete the project as soon as possible.

The reduction in speed is expected to save up to £2.5 billion and also mean that the line could be opened at least a year earlier.

One reason for the lower speed is that testing of new trains will be easier if it is carried out on other high speed lines with a similar line speed. Trains running at 360km/h could not be tested until the line had been opened.

The DfT said the ‘reset’ was fully funded within the Department for Transport’s current Spending Review settlement, with no additional borrowing. Funding beyond 2029-30 will be set at future Spending Reviews and will be in accordance with the Government’s non-negotiable fiscal rules.

The first trains are now expected to start running between Old Oak Common in west London and Birmingham Curzon Street between 2036 and 2039. An estimate of the full scheme from London Euston to Curzon Street and a connection to the West Coast Main Line is between 2040 and 2043.

HS2 Ltd CEO Mark Wild had already started to ‘reset’ the scheme, and six major construction milestones have been reached earlier than planned, while 300 ‘bureaucratic’ posts have been abolished and contracts have been properly scrutinised to ensure that taxpayers get value for money.

Heidi Alexander said: ‘Taxpayers, passengers and communities along the route have been let down by years of mismanagement on HS2.

‘I share their anger about the waste and mess, but I am proud that this Government has worked with HS2’s new senior team to get this project off life support and on the road to recovery.

’We will get the job done but we will also take every opportunity to save time and money in the process, getting a grip on delivery, controlling costs, and stripping out the complexity that’s plagued the project in the past.

‘We can and must build big infrastructure projects in Britain. But we also need competent people in charge of them. This is the same team that delivered the Elizabeth Line. We have done it before, we will do it again.’

The Government has also published a ’comprehensive report’ by Sir Stephen Lovegrove into the Civil Service’s role in HS2 to date. Ministers said they will respond to Sir Stephen’s recommendations after ‘thorough consideration’.

HS2 chief executive Mark Wild said: ‘I recognise this will be unwelcome news for local communities and taxpayers, and I share in their disappointment that it will take longer and cost more to bring HS2 into service.

’Resetting HS2 was the only way to regain control of the project. We have turned a corner in the last 12 months with significantly improved levels of productivity, helping us to deliver major milestones ahead of schedule. We're also progressing with plans to bring HS2 into line with other high-speed railways in Europe – further reducing the project’s complexity without compromising on benefits. 

‘Better journeys, more capacity on the network, and economic growth are all vital to the country’s future prosperity, and that’s exactly what we will deliver. Driven by the hard work of 31,000 people on the ground, HS2 is finally getting back on track.’

Railway Industry Association chief executive Darren Caplan said: ’The Railway Industry Association welcomes the clarity on the budget and schedule for the construction of HS2 announced today. It is hugely important that decisions on line speed and cost have now been agreed, and of course lessons need to be learned as the scheme moves forward to delivery in the months and years ahead.’

The Institution of Civil Engineers said the reset must be a ‘turning point’ for HS2.

ICE director of policy and external affairs Sam Gould said: ‘HS2's reset should mark a turning point for the project. The challenges seen to date reflect issues the ICE highlighted in 2024: a lack of clear objectives, shifting political priorities, and insufficient time spent in development, which led to unrealistic cost estimates.

‘The key lesson is that major infrastructure projects must begin with a clear, agreed set of outcomes. Robust development and accurate costing are not optional – they are essential to maintaining confidence and controlling costs.’

However, the pressure group Taxpayers’ Alliance has remained critical. John O’Connell said: ‘Taxpayers will be disgusted at the way they have been swindled to pay for this white elephant.

‘HS2 has become a monument to government waste, spiralling costs and catastrophic mismanagement on an industrial scale.

‘If this government had any sense, they would finally draw a line under this fiasco and consign HS2 to the dustbin of history where it belongs.’ 

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