Ministers tell HS2 to consider slower train speeds to cut costs

Company will assess whether drop to 186mph from 224mph will save money and help bring forward launch Ministers have told High Speed Two to consider running its trains at lower speeds, in an attempt to rein in the spiralling budget and begin operations as soon as possible. HS2 Ltd will assess whether limiting the speed to 186mph (300km/h) instead of 224mph could save money – potentially billions of pounds – and bring the railway into being earlier in the 2030s. Most fast trains in the UK run at a maximum of 125mph, while high-speed trains to Kent and the Channel tunnel using the HS1 line run at up to 186mph, the typical European maximum. In an update to parliament, the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, said that since the HS2 chief executive, Mark Wild, gave his initial findings for a planned “reset” of the high-speed rail scheme’s timeline and budget, “the scale of the challenge has become even clearer”. She said Wild’s work so far showed that HS2 Ltd “did not have an accurate assessment of how much work had been delivered, or of how much was left to do. It is now clear that previous plans significantly underestimated the work required.” Wild, who took over as the chief executi