Rishi Sunak should axe HS2 after documents revealed its ‘spiralling costs will outweigh economic value’

RISHI Sunak should axe HS2 after government documents revealed the spiralling costs of the train line will far outweigh the economic benefits, a new report claims.

Documents published by the Department for Transport (DfT) show that for every £1 spent on the high speed line, the will only get 90p worth of benefits.

Andrew Gilligan, who was Boris Johnson’s transport advisor, says the rest of the line needs to be chopped to save the country’s cash warning it is “Britain’s greatest infrastructure mistake in half a century.”

The super speedy train line, which is being built from London to Birmingham, will eventually be extended to Manchester.

Plans for a second branch line to Leeds have already been watered down.

Mr Gilligan, who worked on the project in No10, said the cut could save up to £44bn in total.

He said: “The combination of rising costs and falling public spending means that if HS2 continues as planned, it will eat much of the rest of the public transport budget, causing terrible harm to the services that most people actually use, need and want, and which could do far more for economic growth, reducing C02 and cutting road congestion.”

He added: “The prospect of HS2 being delivered to the specification and cost currently claimed is essentially nil.

“The only question is how much more money we waste and how much more damage we cause before we all realise this.”

However the DfT said the reports interpretation of the cost benefit was wrong.

A spokesman said: “This report’s headline is incorrect – the assessment in summer found HS2 would deliver positive value for the taxpayer.

“HS2 will bring transformational benefits and is currently supporting 29,000 jobs. We’re committed to delivering it as set out in the Integrated Rail Plan, and construction is underway and within budget.”