A look at why costs of HS2 rose above initial expectations. Why it is not just about HS2 but wider issues of building infrastructure in the UK. What can be done about it?
Text version
https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/214518/economics/hs2-failure-why-is-uk-so-bad-at-building-infrastructure/
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Sources:
► https://www.samdumitriu.com/p/britains-infrastructure-is-too-expensive
► https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/hs2-designer-blames-frequent-cost-rises-on-overengineering-of-project-09-11-2023/
► https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/oakervee-review-of-hs2
► https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/hs2-costs
► https://www.britainremade.co.uk/britain_paying_up_to_eight_times_more_than_eu_for_road_and_rail_projects_research_finds
► https://inews.co.uk/opinion/hs2-doomed-design-state-failure-national-embarrassment-2661861
► https://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/Rail-News/looking-back-over-hs1-10-years-on – HS1
► https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_Tunnel#/media/File:TGV_TMST_3011-2_-_Sortie_Tunnel_sous_la_Manche_%C3%A0_Coquelles.jpg CC BY-SA 4.0
HS2 videos – https://www.youtube.com/@UCssLfNvVfiBx2D1S0jfnI6A
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36 Comments
Its the consultancy companies that is the source of this problem. Also, the UK don't even have any experts in government-owned companies. So go figure.
The UK don't want to invest in their own expertise, only like to outsource projects.
To many people with their hands in the pot, including Tories and the greedy rich.
Once tax payers money is involved the vultures circle. Dubai have cracked the problem, European architects and overseas workers, job done!!
first bad teeth, now this? 💀
Yep, British culture, especially the natives , they like to not give any jobs to outsiders( only labouring no skills work mostly) whilst they hog those jobs and pretend to work when the manager isn't looking, you know the how they stop working when no-one is looking,
We have a two party state – Labour and Conservative – has that got anything to do with it?
Its because infrastructure is a cover name for corruption, infrastructure is the new brown envelope heading for the pockets of politicians and the elites.
The UK is on its last legs
they're building ukraine first i guess?
Sunak the clown 🤡
If the high cost is due to density, why not build it on the outskirts with feeders in the city center? Not only is it cheaper but it also creates a new economic area. The Chinese did just that, so why not just copy what has been proven to be effective? I'm from the island of Java, Indonesia. Since we just launched HST on one of the most populous islands in one of the most corrupt countries in the world, I won't buy the overdensity or/and corruption theory.
Why cant the UK just hire Sapin or France to build for them?
Highest possible speeds have rolling benefits. Birmingham to London is too close to see the benefit, but how about Birmingham to Paris? A proper connection from London Euston to HS1 would mean through running on the Eurostar from Birmingham to Paris. This is why Birmingham station being a terminal station is dumb, and should have been designed for through running up to Manchester. It just seems pretty myopic/simplistic to declare the project a white elephant without contextualizing for a future where carbon emissions should be lowered as much as possible.
They spend 667 million on geologists to check the ground,and then quote 37 billion. So why do these companies not stick to the agreed price.in my busines if you give a price you stick to it.disgraceful
How much would it have cost to instead modify the existing west and east coast mainlines to run those fast services (reinforcing the rails, shaving the sharp turns off with bridges, tunnels and viaducts)? I'd go for that route if given the option.
If the benefit of HS2 was much greater up north, why not start the infrastructure projects there?
Who votes these clowns into power, and what does that suggest about the intelligence of the British electorate?
It will be harder and harder to create massive infrastructure such as rail networks in the future. Comparing to China, large workforce, people are willing to work 10 hours per day, where as British only work 5 hours per day in average.
Moreover, population not large enough to justify the cost of building HSR
Looking at your video, the old building/construction technologies employed enabled me to understand why the UK cost of such projects is so high. Look at China in its new machines and building techniques that it invented and employed in building its HSR, The UK way of construction pails by miles.
they're not bad. They take our taxes, redistribute them to they're colleagues and then abandon project's and the public is too dumb to see it
Wow, just imagine if they actually spent that money on the people of Britain and the things we actually need rather than on some stupid vanity project that didn't really solve anything. Cost of energy, cost of living, better local public transport, road repairs, homelessness, all things that need attention, but hey, let's invest billions into a rail project that we will probably scrap so our "masters" and their friends will get rich
The issue is the same as it always is, poor management by the dft. they didn’t conduct any lessons learned reviews from hs1 and as we build infrastructure so rarely nobody had any real experience in any aspect of the project, leading to an overreliance on very expensive contractors who focus exclusively on short term goals because they know full well when budgets get chopped contractors are the first to go.
Add to that very basic mistakes such as announcing the full budget ahead of time so all the contracting agencies were bidding for a ‘slice of the pie’ rather than delivering anything close to value for money, the governments woeful contract writing and vetting skills and interference from local mps that insisted on constant changes and revisions. Plus every company involved insisted on generous get out clauses because there is no faith anywhere that the government wouldn’t just axe the project the moment things got difficult (which they did)
Q: "Why is UK so Bad at Building Infrastructure?" ………..A: Government / civil service incompetence and corruption.
The downside of the UK political system becomes apparent when politicians prioritize short-term livelihood issues such as tax cuts and subsidies to gain votes during elections, while neglecting investments in large-scale infrastructure. Although these infrastructure investments may take longer to yield benefits and require collaboration among political parties, the difficulty lies in the public's ability to attribute positive outcomes to any specific party. This emphasizes the limitations of the UK political system.
Too many fingers in the pie…
To much exirstantial ‘ conversations !’ 😂😂😂😂
Everything is about fiat currency ! £ is created out of nothing…..so ?
Swallow your pride, admit your mistakes and prejudice, and beg China for forgiveness and mercy, as it is the ONLY one who can build your much needed infrastructure !
Because it was left in the hands of the TORIES.
They put people incharge of projects who have friends in high places and most of them could not run a bath never mind a project
£50,000,000,000
Corruption at all levels of management – & this is widespread
Imagine somebody suggesting the Manchester Ship Canal today, or the railway infrastructure and water systems that saw the Lake District linked to taps in Didsbury. We don’t make heroic figures like Donald Campbell, we don’t have men like Bobby Charlton and we can’t build, can’t win. We are very good at apologizing and for that we should all be very sorry.
It's not his money he don't care.
Actually, it is hard to build HSR because it is very hard to make a HSR line profitable. Almost every nation, even densely populated nations, can sustain only 1~2 lines profitable, but once you started a HSR operation, it's hard to stop it from spread out to form a network, because there is already an interest group behind. Then you need to subsidize other lines with the 1~2 profit making lines, eventually this subsidy will come from the government in the name of public interest.
Taiwan is lucky, there is really not much place to build HSR, so we build one line only. However, this does not stop HSR interest group pushing to build more stations along the single line, and extend it from both ends. Although almost every Taiwanese does not think those stations and extensions make economical sense.
We have a similar cost and delivery problem with nuclear and for many of the same reasons. Ours is now a rentier economy.
HS2 was always a scam; cash for Tory buddies.
The 1,000 year Tory dream:
Lords in the castles and the rest of us dead or naked in the fields.
Because the same bent corruption companies get the contract via the usual brown envelope brigade,,,all national project in Uk are over budget and late,,,we’re under productive from top management to the bloke pushing a broom ..😢