Building Britain's future
140 miles of new high-speed line is currently being built.
Zero carbon travel
HS2 will be the zero carbon alternative for long distance travel.
What is HS2
Better journeys
HS2 will ensure better journeys for rail users in the West Midlands, London and the South East, with more services, faster journeys and fewer delays.
HS2, Britain’s new high-speed railway, is a strategic investment in our critical transport infrastructure. It will connect London and Birmingham and put passengers first with more reliable, faster and frequent services. HS2 trains will run on zero-carbon electricity helping to decarbonise the rail network.
The new line will free up space on the existing network to meet growing passenger demand, creating more room for local, regional and freight services, taking lorries off the roads.
Modern, eco-friendly flagship stations at Curzon Street, Interchange, Old Oak Common and Euston will act as transport hubs, putting hundreds of destinations in easy reach for travellers – and nearly halve the journey times between Birmingham and London to just 49 minutes.
Boosting the economy
HS2 is benefitting the economy: creating jobs, upskilling employees and spreading opportunities to UK businesses.
HS2 is a vital part of the government’s mission to rebuild Britain and boost growth. By improving connections, the railway will create a corridor of economic opportunity between London and the West Midlands and promote social mobility. It will give people more freedom to choose where they live and work, and businesses more opportunities to trade and grow.
Building Britain’s future
HS2 is being built to the highest standards, using world-class engineering to protect the countryside, cut carbon emissions and drive innovation.
In the construction programme, more than 75% of tunnelling is complete and work has started on two-thirds of HS2’s viaducts and over half of its bridges. Over 31,000 jobs are supported by the project and more than 3,400 UK-based businesses – including over 2,400 small and medium-size enterprises – are helping to build the railway.
HS2 is Britain’s biggest infrastructure project and involves building major structures including tunnels, embankments, cuttings, bridges and viaducts. We’ve awarded contracts to develop HS2’s rail systems – like track, signalling and power supplies – to operate our modern trains.
However, the project faces serious challenges. We are now resetting the programme to ensure that we can deliver the economic growth and better journeys that HS2 promises.
Resetting a major programme like HS2 is common in the global infrastructure industry. Delivery hasn’t matched optimistic early expectations; the schedule has fallen out of sequence and costs have increased.
Our new CEO Mark Wild is leading a complete review of HS2’s cost and schedule to break the cycle of continuous overruns. Mark was brought into Crossrail to lead its recovery following delays and cost overruns in 2018, which led to the successful opening of the Elizabeth line.
HS2 programme reset
During the reset, we are continuing to build the railway, focusing on areas of the programme that will speed up construction, cut costs and improve productivity.
Find out more about the HS2 reset.
Slide 1 of 2: Route map showing HS2 route and connection to the West Coast Main Line, for services to the North West and Scotland.
Slide 2 of 2: Route map showing HS2 infrastructure and connection to the West Coast Main Line, for services to the North West and Scotland.
HS2 funding
The Department for Transport’s report to Parliament provides an overview of the funding and schedule for the HS2 project.
Further information
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