The UK transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, has announced that she will accept all recommendations from the James Stewart review to address years of mismanagement of the HS2 project.
The report, which was first commissioned by the government in October last year, sets out evidence of the mishandling of HS2.
This includes a lack of ministerial oversight and scrutiny, inadequate control of the project by HS2 Ltd and a lack of effective incentives with the supply chain.
The same report estimated that Phase 1 alone could cost up to £37bn with £2bn on cancelled Phase 2 works.
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Speaking from the House of Commons, the transport secretary set out how the department will attempt to fix the issues by re-establishing the HS2 taskforce to offer oversight and accountability, implementing stricter cost control and setting out a new 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy.
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said: “This must be a line in the sand. This government is delivering HS2 from Birmingham to London after years of mismanagement, flawed reporting and ineffective oversight.
“Mark Wild and Mike Brown were part of the team, with me, that turned Crossrail into the Elizabeth Line – we have done it before, we will do it again.
“Passengers and taxpayers deserve new railways the country can be proud of and the work to get HS2 back on track is firmly underway.”
Achievements in rail will be recognised and celebrated at the fourth annual CiTTi Awards on 25 November 2025 at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Visit www.cittiawards.co.uk to learn more about this unmissable event for the UK’s transportation sector!
