John Thompson resigns as HS2 boss as prices for the UK rail project rise

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The head of Britain’s high-speed rail 2 project will step down in the spring, the government said on Tuesday, hours after the Financial Times reported the price had risen by another 9 billion pounds.

Sir John Thompson will He left his post Just two years into his role in February 2023, having previously sat on the board of HS2 Ltd for two years.

One rail industry executive said Thompson’s departure was not surprising because ministers appointed a new chief executive for HS2 and ordered a review of its remit and costing.

Thompson recently took up a position on the board of Mike Ashley’s Fraser Group, owner of UK retailer Sports Direct. Sky News It was reported last month that he has been selected to become President Fraser in 2025.

But the government’s announcement came hours after a Financial Times report, which will feature an official report due to be published later on Tuesday. Internal estimate that HS2 It would cost between £54bn and £66bn in 2019 prices.

This cost estimate, which the government has disputed, represents a jump from the previous figure of between £49 billion and £57 billion a year ago. The new higher figure is equivalent to around £80bn at today’s prices.

Heidi Alexander, Transport Minister, thanked Thompson for “his work over almost four years to develop Britain’s largest railway project”, adding: “He has provided strong leadership during difficult times for the project.”

Last year, the then Conservative government halved the project, leaving only a section from London to Birmingham remaining.

Thompson led HS2 as CEO for 12 months when the project lacked a permanent CEO, before the arrival of incumbent Mark Wild.

Ministers ordered him to conduct a review of the project, including developing new, detailed cost estimates.

Alexander said Tuesday she expects Wild will be able to “capture the budgets and schedules and deliver the line at the lowest possible cost to passengers and taxpayers.”

Wild will seek to renegotiate some contracts which officials suggested left HS2 “above the barrel” in its dealings with suppliers and contractors.

Thompson recently expressed his frustration at planning issues and bureaucracy that have contributed to the high costs of HS2.

The most egregious example is the need for construction, he said A £100m bat shed atop the railway To protect rare species from being hit by trains passing by forests in Buckinghamshire.

“I can give you a lot of those examples. This is my favorite, because it involves this bat…and then people say in this simplistic way: ‘Oh, you’re over budget.’ Well, yeah, okay, but do people think about bats? ?,” Thompson said at an industry conference in November.

The HS2 project has been plagued by delays and cost overruns since it was given the go-ahead by ministers more than a decade ago, with management blaming issues including cost-plus contracts, an increase in tunneling and complexities related to ground conditions.

The price of the line between London and northern England was set at £33 billion when approved in 2012.