Mark Wild says ‘fundamental reset’ needed, as Department for Transport admits it has no final cost estimate

Enormous budget overruns on the HS2 high-speed railway have been blamed by its new chief executive on a “rush to start”, as the Department for Transport admitted it did not know how much it would cost.

Mark Wild, the chief executive of HS2 Ltd, told MPs a “fundamental reset” was needed but a new plan would take until mid-2026 to devise. “We have to acknowledge that HS2 in its core mission to control costs has failed,” he said. “We must break the cycle.”