New costs and timeframes have been revealed for HS2. Rail Minister Lord Hendy discusses getting the project back on track and why Chief Executive Officer Mark Wild is the right man for the job

The Rail Minister Lord Hendy has given his full backing to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HS2 Ltd in getting the job done, but doesn’t underestimate the journey ahead for one of the country’s biggest infrastructure projects.

Mark Wild joined the project as CEO in December 2024, tasked with resetting the project, analysing the costs, and timescales, and ensuring the project is delivered as efficiently as possible.

Last week the Government announced the project is now due to cost between £87.7 million and £102.7 billion (the original estimated cost was £37.5 million at 2009 prices), and the first trains are now expected to start running a decade later than originally planned.

Following the new timescales and costs, Lord Hendy spoke with the trade media, saying: “We’re lucky to have Mark here. He’s collaborative and he has finished off a project that had gone badly wrong (Crossrail) and now he’s working on a project that has gone even more badly wrong and he’s determined to finish it off.”

The Government said the reset has already borne fruit – with six major construction milestones reached earlier than planned in the last year – as well as eliminating 300 bureaucratic roles, and scrutinising contracts to ensure taxpayers get value for money.

The first trains are now expected to start between Old Oak Common in west London and Birmingham Curzon Street between 2036 and 2039. An estimate of the full scheme from London Euston to Curzon Street and a connection to the West Coast Main Line, is between 2040 and 2043.

Lord Hendy said: “I’m confident Mark has properly looked through what else needs to be done because it isn’t just the civil engineering. There’s a huge amount of systems to do, and we’ve also got to have trains to run, and in the end you’ve got to be able to certify the railway and get it in service.”

In April the Euston Delivery Company was set up by the Department for Transport to oversee the construction of the London Euston campus, with the search for a Chair and Chief Executive expected to start shorty, and following that the exploring of private sector involvement alongside the work on a wider development corporation for the Euston area.

The latest HS2 report to Parliament, published, can be found here.