Government to announce another delay to HS2

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander will tell Parliament that the London–Birmingham section of HS2 will miss its already postponed 2033 opening and face at least a two-year further delay, with no new timeline given.

Two independent reviews—led by HS2 CEO Mark Wild and infrastructure guru James Stewart—have revealed a “litany of failure”, including poor governance, contract mismanagement, £37 billion cost overruns, £2 billion wasted on the cancelled northern leg, allegations of subcontractor fraud, and aborted station plans.

The government is responding with a “reset”: accepting 89 recommendations, appointing former TfL chief Mike Brown as HS2 Ltd chair, enhancing oversight, and pledging six-monthly progress reports.

Read a WTX News report on the HS2 train project.

🔁 Reactions:

Government (Heidi Alexander/X): “We’re drawing a line in the sand—HS2 must deliver for taxpayers or be held to account.”
Opposition (Conservative spokesperson): “This further delay proves Labour’s infrastructure reset is just political theatre.”
Viral/Public (infrastructure expert): “HS2 has been mismanaged from the word go—reset long overdue, but taxpayers need answers now.”

📰 Bias Snapshot:

Reuters/BBC deliver factual, system-level reporting focused on cost figures, governance issues, and political accountability (reuters.com).
Financial Times provides deeper analysis on project resets and recommends long-term structural changes. (ft.com)
Sky News/City AM highlight dramatic language such as “litany of failures” and political blame, giving their coverage an editorial edge (cityam.com).

📊 Sentiment: Neutral–negative.