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Story summary
- HS2 will run trains at about 200 mph instead of 225 mph, saving roughly £2.5 bn.
- Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander set the budget at £87.7 bn-£102.7 bn and pushed the London-Birmingham opening to 2039 with full completion by 2043.
- She said two-thirds of the rise comes from expanded scope and delivery inefficiencies, inflation one-third, and the speed cut drops the automatic train-operation system, leading Mark Wild to call the reset necessary despite public disappointment.
