HS2 is almost back on track says chief executive Mark Wild.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander vowed in the summer to address years of mismanagement and restore public trust in the controversial high speed rail line.
She also accepted all recommendations from the James Stewart Review commissioned by the Government in October 2024.
It set out evidence of the historic mishandling of the controversial high speed rail line including 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, which would collectively cost the taxpayer billions more than planned.
Mr Wild, reflecting on a year at the helm, said HS2 had made significant headway above and below ground throughout 2025 on the 140 mile London to Birmingham route.
He said: “I made a commitment to the Transport Secretary that I would address the failures of the past and get HS2 on track. It’s clear that we can only do so with a fundamental reset.
“Over the last year we’ve been through the programme with a fine tooth comb and we’re now very close to establishing a clear path forward.
“However, we’ve not stood still. We had to deliver a safe and productive year while HS2 was reset and I want to thank the 34,000 people working on the project every day for their tremendous hard work. The solid progress they’ve made in the last year gives us strong foundations to build upon. We’ve shown what can be done and I expect that to continue throughout 2026 and beyond as we deliver HS2 as safely and efficiently as possible and for the lowest reasonable cost.”
But Mr Wild has already stated that owing to the previous ‘mismanagement of the project’ there was no possibility of trains running by 2033 as was previously planned.
In June, the government’s Spending Review confirmed funding of £25.3bn to deliver HS2 between London Euston and the West Midlands over the next four years, which Mr Wild said provided greater certainty to the project’s delivery, with a clear focus on completing all tunnels, viaducts, embankments and cuttings along the route.
Some 54 kilometres of the 190km track between London and Birmingham will cut through the heart of Warwickshire, with a new station also being built near Birmingham Airport. Swathes of the county’s landscape has already been transformed by work on the line.
