HS2 to be delayed by up to five years as cost spirals to £88bn

clock • 4 min read

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps tells MPs full London-Birmingham services will not begin until 2031

Full HS2 services between London and Birmingham will be delayed by up to five years to 2031, the government has announced. The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, told parliament final completion of...

To continue reading this article...

Join BusinessGreen

In just a few clicks you can start your free BusinessGreen Lite membership for 12 months, providing you access to:

  • Three complimentary articles per month covering the latest real-time news, analysis, and opinion from Europe’s leading source of information on the Green economy and business
  • Receive important and breaking news stories via our daily news alert
  • Our weekly newsletter with the best of the week’s green business news and analysis

Join now

 

Already a BusinessGreen member?

Login

More on Rail

'One of the UK's greatest but often overlooked economic assets': The case for electrifying UK rail freight
Rail

'One of the UK's greatest but often overlooked economic assets': The case for electrifying UK rail freight

Freight electrification has been moving at a sluggish pace, but the Rail Industry Association argues a targeted and pragmatic upgrade programme would unlock huge economic, environmental, and societal benefits

Michael Holder
Michael Holder
clock 09 July 2026 • 8 min read
NAO warns 'significant work' required on HS2 reset
Rail

NAO warns 'significant work' required on HS2 reset

Latest report on delayed high speed rail projects warns government needs to ensure promised reset finally puts troubled project on 'stable footing'

James Murray
James Murray
clock 29 June 2026 • 4 min read
Rail industry warns electrification is 'essential' for energy security and net zero
Rail

Rail industry warns electrification is 'essential' for energy security and net zero

New report from Railway Industry Assocation argues a programme-based approached to electrification could reduce infrastructure delivery costs by a third

Amber Rolt
clock 04 June 2026 • 3 min read