New UK high-speed rail service may not connect to central London -report

The British government is considering terminating HS2, a flagship new high speed rail line connecting the capital to northern England, on the outskirts of London as the cost of the project soars, the Sun newspaper reported on Friday.

The British government is considering terminating HS2, a flagship new high speed rail line connecting the capital to northern England, on the outskirts of London as the cost of the project soars, the Sun newspaper reported on Friday. The costs of the project are said to be rocketing due to the mounting cost of steel, concrete and labour, forcing the government to consider stopping the line in west London, instead of Euston, central London, the newspaper said.

A delay to building track to Euston was also being considered, the Sun said. Asked about the report, the government did not deny that it was considering the west London option, but confirmed its commitment to building the line to Manchester, in northern England.

"The government remains committed to delivering HS2 to Manchester, as confirmed in the Autumn Statement," a Department for Transport spokesperson said in an emailed statement. Construction of the first part of the track from west London to Birmingham is already well underway. HS2 was expected to cost between 72 billion pounds ($89 billion) and 98 billion pounds at 2019 prices, but since then inflation has soared. 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)