The government has confirmed that its has sunk over £40bn into HS2 so far, with ministers admitting there’s still no clear estimate for the final cost or completion date.

Transport secretary Heidi Alexander, who has resumed 6-month progress reports to MPs, gave the first spending update on the mega project at nominal or cash terms, rather than benchmark 2019 prices previously preferred by the Government.

Over £37.9bn has already spent on Phase One of the the troubled megaproject between London and Birmingham.

That includes £26.4bn on civils, £3.6bn on land, £2.3bn on stations and £2bn on systems.

A further £2.6bn has been spent on the cancelled legs north of Birmingham, bringing total cost so far to £40.5bn.

She confirmed 70% of the 32 miles of tunnels between London and Birmingham have now been bored.

But much more has still to be delivered. Major civil works are underway on 44 viaducts, 126 bridges, 75 embankments and 60 cuttings, while tunnelling machines are now being assembled at Old Oak Common ahead of the final tunnelling push to Euston, due to start next Spring.

She added HS2 had been plagued by delays, inflated costs, poor governance and weak supply chain performance.

New CEO Mark Wild will set out his full reset plan to get the scheme back under control next Spring.

“To validate this new estimate, there is also work underway to verify the civils work delivered to date and its cost.

“This will allow the programme to validate true delivery costs against the original estimates. This information, combined with continued investment in collating benchmarking data from international comparators, will give us a more reliable ‘should cost’ model for the remainder of the programme,” she told Parliament.

A new £25.3bn spending package has been agreed to keep work going between 2026 and 2030.

The government has rebooted plans to build the HS2 station at Euston with a new delivery company and a push to tap private finance to finally get the long-delayed London terminus moving.

A new Euston Delivery Company will take over the project from HS2 Ltd and oversee development of the entire station campus, including the high-speed platforms, a rebuilt Network Rail station and upgraded Tube links.

The government said design work at Euston would restart later this year.

Ministers confirmed they are exploring a funding package that includes private capital, land sale receipts, and possible local contributions such as tax increment financing. Specialist advisers have been appointed to structure the deal.