Key HS2 contracts renegotiated as government scrambles to slash costs

Two of the High Speed 2 (HS2) railway's most significant private sector deals have been renegotiated, the government will announce on Friday, as it tries to demonstrate that Britain's biggest infrastructure white elephant is finally under control.

Sky News has learnt that the Department for Transport (DfT) will say that new commercial contracts have been agreed with two consortia which between them account for more than 100km of the HS2 route between London and Birmingham.

The two groups are EKFB, which is a joint venture involving Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial Construction and BAM Nuttall; and Align, which comprises Bouygues Travaux Publics, Sir Robert McAlpine, and VolkerFitzpatrick.

Sources said on Thursday evening that the renegotiated deals were expected to save hundreds of millions of pounds by removing incentives to contractors to escalate spending on the project.

The latest statement from the DfT will come just over a year after Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, lambasted a "litany of failure" which had left taxpayers facing the prospect of a new rail link costing more than £100bn and fully opening up to 13 years late.

Ms Alexander drafted in a new chairman of HS2 a year ago, with a recent National Audit Office (NAO) report suggesting that ministers were finally making progress on the project after years of controversy.

The NAO estimated that resetting civil engineering contracts could ultimately save the taxpayer as much as £2bn.

Mark Wild, the current HS2 chief executive, recommended an overhaul of the contracting model when he was drafted in last year, the DfT has previously said.

"This is the latest in the series of moves from this government to get HS2 back on track," said a Whitehall source.

"Previous Conservative governments totally lost control of the project, which became a symbol of Britain's inability to get things done.

"The transport secretary has drawn a line in the sand, and this government is clear it will get this railway built as soon as possible, at the lowest reasonable cost, while protecting taxpayers' money."

Ministers have said they now believe the programme, on which more than £45bn has been spent so far, can be delivered in line with a £93.2bn target outlined in May.

HS2 has been beset by disasters over the size and speed of its rolling stock, environmental mishaps and the cancellation of the line beyond Birmingham.

The project currently employs more than 30,000 people.

In a statement issued following an enquiry by Sky News, Mr Wild said: "Bringing an end to HS2's cost over-runs and delays is a shared ambition, and I'd like to thank every one of the parent companies at both EKFB and Align for their willingness to negotiate and their commitment to doing the right thing for British taxpayers."

"Investing in world-class infrastructure is vital to securing economic growth, but it cannot come at any cost."

He added that the news of the renegotiated contracts "represents a significant step forward in our mission to regain control of HS2."    

Talks about renegotiating deals with two other civil engineering joint ventures, one of which includes the London-listed company Balfour Beatty, are understood to be ongoing.

(c) Sky News 2026: Key HS2 contracts renegotiated as government scrambles to slash costs