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HS2: Claims high-speed rail link could cost £200bn

The high-speed rail link HS2 could end up costing as much as £200 billion it has been claimed as the controversial project today is set to be given the green light by MPs.

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Labour's Luton North MP Kelvin Hopkins said leaks from the government-owned company suggests the 351 mile line will end up costing £200bn – around four times the current £55bn budget.

The admission was made in a letter from Mr Hopkins to campaign group Stop HS2.

It states: "Leaks from inside the HS2 bureaucracy suggests the total cost of HS2 will be over £200 billion."

The cost of the London to Manchester and Leeds line, via Birmingham, has jumped twice in recent years.

The official cost of the project was stated at £33bn in 2010, then increase to £42.6bn in 2013, and then to £55.7bn when it was last revised in 2015.

MPs are due to debate the final stage of the London to Birmingham leg tonight, with Royal Assent expected later in the week.

Construction will start in the coming months.

Joe Rukin, Stop HS2 campaign manager, said: "Over the years, we have seen the costs of HS2 spiral as they constantly make amendments to correct previous mistakes, and they exercise no budgetary control over contractors who seem to have been left to run their own kleptocracy. So to hear they are actually working to an estimate of £200bn seems about right, and is maybe the first truthful thing to ever come out of HS2 Ltd.

"It has been clear since the outset that HS2 has got this far because the contractors who want to build it have lobbied hard for it, creating an illusionary imperative which has suckered politicians who are too lazy to do their own research and understand the case for this project is completely fictitious. Sadly it seems the only thing we can do now is watch the costs go up as the contractors build their gravy train, and we can look forward to saying 'We told you so' in 20 years when all those responsible for approving this disastrous white elephant are long gone."

HS2 will eventually cut a 45-mile swathe through rural Staffordshire and is set to be fully opened by 2033.

HS2 Ltd said: "HS2 represents a once in a lifetime chance to rebalance the national economy, connecting the North, to the Midlands, and the South East. It will transform travel in this country, connecting eight of the 10 largest cities in the UK, as well as improving capacity for consumers and productivity for the economy. We are working to a budget of £55.7bn and are confident of delivering on time and on budget."

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