Is three times as much money being spent on transport infrastructure as on HS2?

"We should invest in other transport infrastructure, and this government is. Three times as much public money is going into other transport schemes as into HS2."

Michael Gove, BBC Question Time, 26 September 2013

After Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls cast doubt over the future of the controversial proposed high speed rail link between London and the north of England at the Labour Party conference last week, Education Secretary Michael Gove rode to its defence on the BBC's Question Time.

Responding to Daily Express columnist Patrick O'Flynn's charge that "the money could be vastly better spent on ten large projects or twenty medium-sized projects, updating our whole public transport infrastructure," Mr Gove said that a commitment to HS2 didn't necessarily mean that the kitty was empty when it came to other transport schemes.

But is three times as much money as is being spent on HS2 really being directed this way?

How much is High Speed Rail expected to cost?

According to data from the Treasury's infrastructure investment pipeline, which contains detailed information on infrastructure investment, HS2 will cost £42.6 billion in total (with a further £7.5 billion earmarked for rolling stock). This will be broken down into two construction phases: phase one, from London to Birmingham, is due to open in 2026 and phase two, from Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester, is due to open in 2033.

Total transport infrastructure spending

The Government's policy on infrastructure is set out in the National Infrastructure Plan 2011, which was updated in 2012 and 2013.

The plan outlines a pipeline of over 550 planned public and private infrastructure projects being overseen by government worth £310 billion over the next decade.

Investments into transport infrastructure will total £92.3 billion - with almost half of that set aside for HS2. On this evidence it's hard to substantiate the Education Secretary's claim that three times as much as is being spent on HS2 is also earmarked for other transport projects. 

A clarification from DfT

We got in touch with the Department for Transport, and a spokesperson told us that Michael Gove was referring to spending plans for the "foreseeable future", meaning up to 2020/21. This coincides with phase one of HS2, which is budgeted to cost £16 billion.

The remaining transport schemes are outlined in the June 2013 Spending Review. Among the priority projects are Crossrail, Network Rail improvements, the new Lower Thames crossing, two capital investment programmes for Gatwick and Heathrow airports, and the Kings Cross station upgrade.

All together, these are budgeted to be £57bn, which is more than three times the spend on HS2 in that same period.

A green light?

Leaving aside whether or not it was clear from Michael Gove's comments on question time that he was referring to phase 1 of the HS2 proposals only, there are other potential pitfalls for his claim.

In oral evidence to the Public Accounts Committee this year, David Prout - director general of the High Speed 2 Group for the Department for Transport - revised the DfT's original budget for phase one from £16 billion to £21.4 billion. The Chair of PAC even suggested that the "reality is that we could end up on £27 billion for phase 1, "and expressed concerns at the "weak cost information" provided by the Department for Transport.

So while Mr Gove's claim is accurate based on the information provided at the time of the Spending Review, on more pessimistic cost estimates, other transport spending might prove in time to be little more than twice the projected HS2 phase 1 budget.

---

Flickr image courtesy of the Fotographia Guerilla