HS2 has been ordered to hunt for more savings as ministers push the troubled high-speed line towards a cheaper and quicker finish.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has tasked HS2 chief executive Mark Wild with testing whether stripping out complexity from the railway could save taxpayers billions and bring services into operation sooner.

Top of the list is a rethink of the line’s original 360km/h specification.

Ministers said no railway in the UK or elsewhere is currently engineered for that speed, meaning HS2 trains would have to wait for the route itself to be built before testing could begin or be sent overseas for trials.

The government believes dropping to a more proven high-speed standard in the 300km/h to 320km/h range could cut risk, strip billions from costs and shave time off the programme with only a negligible impact on journey times.

Wild was due to report details of his big project reset this month. Under the new plan he will now report back before the summer recess, with updated cost and schedule estimates to follow once they have been fully assured.

Alexander said the government was determined to “look at every opportunity to claw back construction time, save taxpayers money and ensure the project delivers for the country”.

Wild added: “Speed has never been the primary objective. This railway will deliver better journeys, more capacity on the network, and economic growth.”

The move comes as the government admits the scale of the inherited mess is worse than first thought.

Ministers said HS2 Ltd did not have an accurate assessment of how much work had already been delivered or how much remained, with previous plans significantly underestimating the scale of the job left to finish the railway.

The latest report to Parliament yesterday shows £43.6bn had been spent on the HS2 programme by the end of February 2026 in cash terms.

The reset is also changing how the next phase of work is being let and delivered.

Rail systems contracts covering track, signalling, communications and power supplies started in February 2025, but HS2 has now slowed their early mobilisation to fit the wider reset.

The plan is to complete design and build an integrated deployment schedule before installation starts on site, with systems work held back until civils are finished.

The government said this was a direct lesson from the premature start of main civils on HS2 and from Crossrail, where systems installation began before civil engineering works were complete.

Another change has seen HS2 drop platform-edge doors from the scheme after concluding they are no longer technically viable as the railway’s operating design has evolved.

The original procurement was abandoned last July and the train dispatch system package has been revised to strip out the interface with those doors.