Resetting HS2: What will be different this time around?

Britain’s High Speed 2 (HS2) rail line has been under intense public scrutiny for some time. But despite the headlines and the turbulence, the project’s fundamental transformative value hasn't changed. 

It's not the first major infrastructure to be beset by bad headlines and political doubts. It's a familiar narrative, but importantly, one that has been turned around before.

Each project has provided lessons. And when completed, they become part of daily life in ways that genuinely change how people move, connect, and access opportunity.

More recently, the government announced a new plan for Northern Powerhouse Rail with a clear emphasis on ‘getting it right’.

HS2’s reset sits firmly within this same shift: a more disciplined, more intentional approach to delivering infrastructure that people depend on.

The ICE held this roundtable with Mike Brown, chair of High Speed 2 Ltd (HS2), who was brought in alongside Mark Wild, CEO, to oversee the reset.

The aim was to identify lessons from other major project resets and help ensure HS2’s new approach reflects operational realities, market capacity, and the expectations of those who will ultimately use the railway.

Key points covered in the discussion included:

• The significance of the reset, which may be a last chance to fix the project.
• Building momentum and celebrating successes to change the narrative through incremental delivery.
• Building trust through a common purpose, finding the right governance arrangements and being transparent.
• Operating a major project under uncertainty caused by domestic election cycles, changes in rail policy and geopolitics.
• Identifying and embedding lessons for wider infrastructure delivery.