UK ministers have ordered an internal review to weigh the cost of abandoning the High Speed 2 project, after criticism over its ballooning price tag. The review, commissioned by the Department for Transport, asks whether scrapping the London‑Birmingham line would be cheaper than completing it. So far, £40 billion of taxpayer money has already been spent.

HS2 chief executive Mark Wild concluded that dismantling the partially built assets – 100 million cubic metres of earthworks, 45 viaducts and 132 bridges – would cost at least as much as finishing them. He warned that full remediation could exceed the original build cost, pushing the total budget beyond £100 bn. Transport secretary Heidi Alexander will present a “reset” to parliament, acknowledging delays past the mid‑2030s.

The latest estimate puts HS2’s price tag between £90 bn and £100 bn, with a modest saving possible by lowering design speed from 360 km/h to 320 km/h. Uncertainty over London Euston’s redevelopment and the Y‑shaped route adds risk for contractors and financiers. With the Treasury facing a potential white‑elephant, stakeholders now face a tighter fiscal squeeze.

Investors will watch the upcoming parliamentary briefing closely, as any further cost escalation could trigger renegotiations of existing contracts and pressure on UK infrastructure budgets.