When the coalition government took forward High Speed 2 after the 2010 election, as well as the Euston route the project included a direct branch to Heathrow and a link to High Speed 1, via a single line connection to the North London line. The business case for both these links was actually dreadful, but it was argued both were strategically vital. Indeed, the project as a whole, and in particular the Heathrow branch, was part of a pitch by the Conservatives that HS2 was an alternative to expanding Heathrow – a proposition that didn’t stand up to analysis for a moment.
Nearly 10 years later, costs for what was to have been a £30 billion project have ballooned. Both the Heathrow branch and the connection with HS1 have been quietly dropped, but the current quoted capital cost is £56 billion, despite these reductions in scope. Even this now appears to be unrealistic, with HS2’s Chief Executive admitting that further cost savings are now being considered, including reducing planned service frequencies and lower maximum speeds, which in turn would enable a reduction in the cross-section of the tunnels. There are also Chinese whispers that the Old Oak Common – Euston section may be dropped, at least init…
