HS2 has already cost us £2.3 billion (without any tracks being laid!) Spiralling cost of the project revealed as accounts are slipped out

‘HS2 has already cost taxpayers almost £2.3billion before a single piece of track has been laid, it emerged yesterday.
The spiralling cost of Britain’s biggest ever infrastructure project was revealed in accounts slipped out yesterday afternoon.
The annual report showed that the company established by the government to build the railway spent £500million in the year to March 31 – up almost 30 per cent from £352.9million the year before. It takes the total amount spent by HS2 so far to more than £1.9billion since 2009.
Separate accounts published by the Department for Transport yesterday also showed it has spent another £366million on HS2. The bulk of this was on compensating individuals and businesses who own property and land near the planned line.
This takes the total spent on the project to just under £2.3billion. It comes amid fresh warnings that the project could end up costing more than £100billion.’
Read more: HS2 has already cost us £2.3 billion (without any tracks being laid!) Spiralling cost of the project revealed as accounts are slipped out