HS2 needs rethinking, according to a recent report from The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee. Apparently, HS2 isn’t going so well.
To reduce the risk of cost overruns on HS2, their Lordships propose joining it up with Crossrail. That’s the same Crossrail that does not yet have a confirmed target date for full operation. (Spoiler alert: it won’t be December 2018).
Perhaps the NAO should check the distribution for their recent Crossrail report… Sir Amyas Morse was very keen to point out to MPs that he works for Parliament (not the Civil Service) and last time I checked, Parliament still includes the House of Lords.
So, to reduce risk in one project of concern, we should integrate it with another project. Of course we should.
Multiple choice time: if you integrate two projects together is this likely to:
- Reduce overall risk; or
- Increase overall risk?
If you chose (a), despite the slightly leading question, would you choose a second project with a slightly dodgy history of risk management?
Alternatively, perhaps 19% / £2.8 billion over budget doesn’t sound too bad by HS2 standards so anything might be an improvement. Neither alternative is encouraging for the UK taxpayer.