HS2 train traffic is to be almost halved as part of the cost-cutting proposal

HS2 train artist impression

The number of trains running on HS2 will be almost halved and services will run more slowly in a planned restructuring of the £72billion line as ministers scramble to save money.

Whitehall officials are considering reducing the number of trains from 18 to 10 an hour, insiders said.

Meanwhile, plans to offer services up to 360 km/h (224 mph) are in jeopardy as officials weigh whether to reduce top speeds.

The proposals are among a range of cost-cutting measures being discussed as part of an overhaul codenamed Project Silverlight and Operation Blue Diamond as ministers grapple with huge inflationary pressures on Britain’s biggest infrastructure project.

The Department for Transport on Tuesday refused to rule out a reduction in the frequency and speed of HS2 trains.

A spokesman said: “We do not comment on speculation. With the HS2 program, the spades are already in the ground. It will better connect regions across the UK, provide a greener way to travel and support tens of thousands of jobs.

“We remain committed to delivering the project from Euston to Manchester and continue to operate in line with the integrated railway plan.”

It came as Transport Secretary Mark Harper criticized Labor’s plan to nationalize the railways, describing it as a “soaked sandwich wrapped in cling film of backward thinking”.

In a speech on Wednesday setting out his vision for the future of rail travel, Mr Harper said nationalization had already been “attempted and ultimately discarded”.

With all the focus on speed in the early years of its planning, HS2 was originally designed to operate at up to 400 km/h. After the contract was awarded for the construction of new trains, this was reduced to an average of 330 km/h and a maximum of 360 km/h.

Traveling at these speeds would still be faster than anything internationally, with the exception of China, the latest review of the HS2 for the government has found.

According to the 2020 report, authored by former HS2 and Crossrail chairman Sir Doug Oakervee, up to 10 per cent of the construction cost of HS2 could be saved if a requirement for such “super-high speeds” were abandoned.

Sir Doug’s Review vice-chairman Lord Berkeley believes significant amounts of money could be saved if speeds were reduced to 125mph.

In a letter to Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, and Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, the Labor colleague said running services at this slower speed would reduce costs as HS2 could better integrate with the rest of Britain’s rail infrastructure and stations .

He said: “Why do you need to get to London 30 minutes faster when you have wifi and your laptop on the train?

“I suggest that ministers examine options to radically reduce the cost of what remains of HS2.”

Reducing train frequency to just 10 trains per hour would mean fewer platforms needed at HS2 stations.

It could also pave the way for higher specifications designed to handle a larger number of trains to be scrapped – for example, holding the tracks together with standard crushed stone instead of the more expensive concrete slabs currently envisaged.

But frequency reductions would also likely end any remaining hopes of a revival of HS2’s eastern extension after it was scrapped by Boris Johnson.

Both Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss suggested during last summer’s Conservative Party leadership election that they would try to take HS2 as far as Leeds by building an eastern branch.

Mr Hunt last month insisted it was “inconceivable” that HS2 would not go to central London after reports the line would stop at Old Oak Common. It has since emerged that one “nuclear” option being considered by transport officials is to build a terminus at West London station instead of Euston.

The prospect of cuts drew criticism from HS2 advocates on Tuesday.

A spokesman for High Speed ​​Rail Group said: “A re-specification or simply delaying the project will indeed mean the project’s proper controls will be relaxed and we desperately need the growth and productivity benefits that HS2 will bring to the to combat the cost of living crisis. It will always be said in the future that HM Treasury is partly to blame for his lateness and overspending.”

Official figures estimate that the cost of phases 1 and 2a of HS2 will be £42.5bn, with a western part of phase 2b costing £17bn. The work, which will replace the east spur, is expected to cost £12.8bn for a total of £72.3bn.

Separately, animal rights organizations said the construction of HS2 is destroying more than twice as much wildlife as originally thought.

The company behind the high-speed rail project underestimates the nature that will be destroyed by its construction and overestimates the impact of the streams, forests and meadows it will build to offset losses, the Wildlife Trust said.

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