Stephen Flynn, Scotland's newly appointed Cabinet Secretary for Transport, has criticised the HS2 high-speed rail project, describing it as "symbolic of Westminster dysfunction" and urging the UK Government to clarify how the £100bn scheme will benefit Scotland.
HS2 Costs and Delays
The project, originally intended to link London with Manchester and Leeds, has faced soaring costs and repeated delays. In 2023, the then-Conservative government under Rishi Sunak scrapped the northern leg, focusing only on a line to Birmingham. The latest estimates put the final bill at over £102bn, with the line potentially not opening until 2039.
Flynn said: "HS2 is one of the most over-budget and delayed projects ever, with its latest price tag of £100 billion now rivalling that of the international space station. For £100 billion you’d be forgiven for thinking that you’d be taking your own spaceship direct from the sofa to central London - but instead Scots are being told that we might get a few minutes off a train journey down south, on carriages with fewer seats that will cost more."
Impact on Scotland
One of the original benefits of HS2 was to free up capacity on the west coast mainline between Glasgow and London, which frequently suffers delays and cancellations. The original plan promised to reduce journey times between Scotland's central belt and London to just over three and a half hours. However, the scrapped Golborne Link—a 13-mile stretch in Cheshire that would have connected HS2 to the existing line—meant high-speed trains would have little benefit north of the border without increased track capacity.
The Scottish Association for Public Transport previously warned: "Scotland is losing out. Truncating HS2 to a London-Birmingham rump means that future trains will not save much time from London to Scotland."
Flynn's Criticism
Flynn highlighted the cost of building "green tunnels" on flat land to keep trains hidden, calling it "a £100 billion journey without a view." He added: "Decades behind schedule, tens of billions of pounds over budget - HS2 is symbolic of Westminster dysfunction. It is about time Westminster came clean on how their latest amended plans for HS2 will actually benefit the people of Scotland."
Government Response
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "Following years of mismanagement, this Government has taken decisive action to reset HS2 and ensure the safe delivery of the new high-speed line at the lowest reasonable cost. HS2 will deliver increased capacity, connectivity and reliability across the UK - including faster journeys between London and Scotland - and we are actively exploring ways to increase capacity on services heading north. Tunnels are necessary to reduce noise for local communities, navigate urban areas, and preserve natural landscapes like ancient woodlands and the Chiltern Hills."
