Why is HS2 costing so much?

The members of the Denham Waterski Club are among the few people in the Chilterns who are grateful for HS2. They have a superb new clubhouse overlooking the tiny lake where their motorboats whizz round in ever tighter circles, thanks to the fact that their old one was in the way of the massive viaduct being built over the Colne Valley for the new line. The heavy concrete structure does somewhat blight their view but they are undoubtedly delighted with their Faustian deal.

The few hundred thousand pounds this has cost HS2 Ltd – or rather the taxpayers who are paying for the line – is trifling in relation to the total bill, which is now heading for something like three times the original estimate of £35 billion. But it provides a small clue as to why the project is costing so much.