After years of torment for villages on the HS2 route near Leamington – the train may not be as high-speed as first planned.

Yesterday (Tuesday March 23), the Government announced a ‘reset’ for the High Speed railway between London and Birmingham, Mark Wild, CEO of HS2 said speed had never been the primary objective.

“Following years of mismanagement, poor decisions and spiralling costs, the Government has taken decisive action to reset HS2 and ensure the safe delivery of the line between Birmingham and London at the lowest reasonable cost,” a Department for Transport media officer told the Leamington Courier today.

The Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, has given a six-monthly update to Parliament through a written statement, setting out the new position.

She said: "HS2 was originally commissioned to run at 360km/h, which would have made (the trains) the fastest conventional high-speed trains anywhere in the world. However, no railway in the UK, or globally, is currently engineered for 360km/h.

"This means that HS2 would have to wait for HS2 tracks to be built before testing any trains – an approach which could increase costs and delay the completion of the project."

HS2 will now consider lower speeds on the line, which runs through south Warwickshire and has been plagued by delays and increasing costs which stand at over £100bn.

Lowering the operating speed on the line is one of the options open to the project.

The Transport Secretary said: "This Government is determined to deliver HS2 as effectively and efficiently as possible. In doing so, I will look at every opportunity to claw back construction time, save taxpayers money and ensure the project delivers for the country.

"I share the public’s anger about the waste and mess of the past which is why this Government is pulling HS2 out of its sclerosis and setting it on a more sensible course.”

Mark Wild, Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd, said: "I made a commitment to the Transport Secretary that I would regain control of HS2 and bring an end to the project’s cost increases and delays.

"With performance moving in the right direction, driven by the hard work of 30,000 people on the ground, we are rightly exploring options to create further efficiencies.

""Speed has never been the primary objective.

"This railway will deliver better journeys, more capacity on the network, and economic growth – all of which are vital to the country’s future prosperity.

HSUK, an alternative high speed rail network developed by professional railway engineers to address the shortcomings of HS2, said in its test of claims for HS2: “HS2 Ltd’s failure to address the need for an improved national network means that HS2 can never deliver its promise of ‘hugely enhanced capacity and connectivity’ between the UK’s major conurbations and it can never deliver the huge economic benefits that have also been promised.”

A second northwards stage for HS2 was abandoned by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in 2023.

Maryam Eslamdoust, general secretary of TSSA - the union representing staff directly employed by HS2 - has described the suggestion trains could run at slower speeds once the line is up and running as “very unwise” and said it would “leave Britain in the slow lane in comparison the other countries including its European neighbours and China.