New HS2 Chief Confronts Cost Overruns and Legal Mandates

Mark Wild defends a £100m bat tunnel as a legal necessity while acknowledging systemic failures in the high-speed rail project's management.

HS2's new CEO, Mark Wild, defended the £100 million bat tunnel in Buckinghamshire, emphasizing its necessity to comply with UK laws protecting wildlife.
The Department for Transport admitted it does not have a reliable cost estimate for HS2, with current projections ranging between £67 billion and £83 billion at today's prices.
Wild attributed cost overruns to construction starting prematurely, poor risk management, and flawed productivity assumptions, calling for a 'fundamental reset' of the project by 2026.
Timelines for completing the London-to-Birmingham phase remain uncertain, with estimates suggesting trains may not run until the 2030s, significantly later than originally planned.
Outgoing HS2 chairman Sir Jon Thompson criticized the project’s management, citing the bat tunnel as emblematic of the broader challenges in delivering large infrastructure projects in the UK.