Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the overall reduction of cost to High Speed 2 of terminating the proposed line at Old Oak Common including any necessary redesign of the station at Old Oak Common to make such a termination possible; and what effect such a reduction would have on the cost-benefit analysis for High Speed 2.

A number of options for the London terminal station for HS2 were considered as part of a strategic assessment in 2009. This included terminating HS2 at Old Oak Common. Only options that were included in the final sift were subject to detailed evaluation including a cost assessment.

Early transport analysis found that the bulk of the demand for HS2 would come from the central, north and south of London which would be best served by a central London station. Given that, Old Oak Common would not deliver the same level of benefits as a central London station and it was not included as part of the final sift and was therefore not subject to a cost analysis.