Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what is the latest estimated total cost of High Speed 2, including rolling stock, from 2009 to the date on which the first trains run on all phases of the lines.

In 2011, the Government consulted on the proposed strategy for a national high speed rail network. A decision to proceed with High Speed 2 was taken in January 2012 (Cm 8247). The total spend on High Speed 2 from the financial year 2009/10 to 2011/12 was £87.7 million.

Expenditure on HS2 from 2012/13 onwards is included in the long-term funding envelope for delivering HS2. The funding envelope was restated in 2015 prices in Spending Review 2015 at £55.7 billion, including rolling stock. The funding envelope is net of any proceeds from selling Land & Property that is not directly needed for construction of the railway.

I am committed to managing both the cost of HS2 and ensuring maximum value for the taxpayer, and delivering within the funding available.