The budget for HS2 was revised upwards from £34.5bn to
£42.6bn, the Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin announced
on the High Speed Rail (Preparation) Bill before the Commons on 26
June 2013. This week it has been reported in the
Financial Times that even this figure may be too low with
(unattributed) "senior Treasury figures" putting the cost
at nearer £73bn.
Officially, the budget for phase one, the proposed high-speed
line linking London and Birmingham set for completion by 2026 is
now £21.4bn. The budget for phase two, the lines to
Manchester and Leeds via Sheffield opening by 2032, now stands at
£21.2bn. The new spending plans include a contingency budget
of £14.4bn, with £5.7bn and £8.7bn contingency
allocated to phase one and phase two respectively. The
£42.6bn total does not, however, include the cost of new
rolling stock, which is currently estimated at £7.5bn,
including £1.7bn contingency. If the cost of rolling stock is
factored into the budget, the
