A £2 billion contract to build dozens of “bullet trains” for HS2 is to be radically shaken up as ministers prepare to unveil fresh delays and cost over-runs in the controversial rail project.
In December 2021, the Conservative government awarded a contract to a joint venture between Japanese firm Hitachi and France’s Alstom to build 54 trains at sites in Derby, Crewe and Co Durham. Worth £2 billion, it was said at the time that the deal would support or create 2,500 UK jobs.
But the contract, which also included a 12-year maintenance and services deal, was awarded when it was envisaged that HS2 would run from London to Manchester. The project was subsequently pared back, with the line beyond Birmingham axed.
Engineers work on a train at the Alstom factory in Derby in 2024CHRISTOPHER FURLONG/GETTY IMAGES
Officials from the Department for Transport and counterparts at the two train makers have opened talks about reducing the number of trains, as well as reconfiguring the train length, according to sources familiar with discussions.
Changing the terms of the contract could result in penalty payments or compensation to the two train makers. HS2 is fully funded by UK taxpayers.
It is yet to be finalised how many of the 54 trains will be required. But it is understood the final number will be significantly more than half of the original order. Whitehall sources insisted that the changes would not have an impact jobs at Alstom’s works in Crewe and Derby and Hitachi’s plant in Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham.
A second focal point of the talks is understood to be the length of the new HS2 trains. Designed to reach 225mph, it was originally envisaged that they would have a maximum length of 400 metres, comprising two 200-metre units.
The government placed the order for the trains years before a decision was made in October 2023 to axe the HS2 line beyond Birmingham.
The new HS2 trains are now expected to switch to the existing west coast mainline en route to destinations in the North West, such as Manchester. But Manchester’s Piccadilly station does not have 400-metre platforms to accommodate the HS2 locomotives and carriages.
Running a single 200-metre unit, however, would leave HS2 in the embarrassing situation of the trains being shorter than the current Pendolino fleet run by the much-maligned inter-city operator Avanti.
The tilting Pendolinos, which entered service nearly a quarter of a century ago, measure between 217 and 265 metres, depending on whether they are operating a 9 or 11-car set-up.
An Avanti Pendolino tilting train on the west coast mainline in CumbriaAlamy
As a result, a range of options is being discussed to change the length of HS2 trains. This could result in them being shortened or made longer — or even being built at two different lengths.
The talks come as transport secretary Heidi Alexander is expected to unveil details of a major “reset” to the remaining high-speed line between London and Birmingham in the coming weeks. HS2 boss Mark Wild, who won plaudits for addressing delays and budget blowouts on London’s Crossrail project, is preparing a “new baseline” that will include updated forecasts and a feasible timetable.
Officially, passenger services on the section between Birmingham and the London suburb station at Old Oak Common are due to start between 2029 and 2033. Wild has warned that the 2029 date is “unlikely”. The link from Old Oak Common to London’s Euston is not expected to be live until the 2040s.
The current estimated cost of phase one of HS2 between London and Birmingham is between £54 billion and £67 billion, though this is in 2019 prices and does not account for inflation, which some think will take the final bill to nearer £100 billion.
The publication of the reset, which is rumoured to have been delayed by the war in the Middle East, will precede the finalisation of the revised train contract.
A spokesman for HS2 said: “The Hitachi-Alstom joint venture are contracted to deliver a fleet of 54 new trains for HS2. No changes have been made to the original order.”
HS2 chief Mark Wild at Old Oak Common station JONATHAN BRADY/PA
The contract has been embroiled in controversy. In late 2023, two years after it was announced, The Sunday Times revealed that original designs included carriages without enough doors.
Siemens Mobility, which employs more than 5,000 people in the UK across 30 sites, including a new train-building plant in Goole, West Yorkshire, unsuccessfully sued the government over the award, claiming HS2 did not verify whether the joint venture could meet the technical requirements of the project.