High Speed 2 to Cost up to £103 Billion After More Delays

The UK’s High Speed 2 rail line will cost between £87.7 billion ($117 billion) and £102.7 billion and open by 2036 at the earliest, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said, revealing the latest budget increase and delay to the troubled project.

Trains will also run at slower speeds than initially planned in a move to reduce costs. They will now go up to 320 kilometers (199 miles) per hour, down from 360 km/hour in previous plans. It will run between London and Birmingham, after the previous Conservative government of Rishi Sunak canceled the legs intended to run into northern England, back in 2023.