Ministers will oversee the building of high-speed rail line HS2 as the Government denies rumours one of its scrapped phases could be back on the table.
The move by Transport Secretary Louise Haigh comes as she brands the project "dire" in terms of keeping a grip on budgets and costs.
Ms Haigh has ordered an independent review of phase one of the line between Birmingham, Solihull and London.
The Government said that "poor project management, inflation and poor performance from the chain" had caused costs to "spiral out of control". There have been warnings that overall spend could be more than £65 billion.
Ms Haigh said that she, Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones would hold regular meetings on progress and costs and reports would be published every six months to ensure accountability and transparency.
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Ms Haigh said: "One of my first jobs as Transport Secretary has been to urgently review the position I have inherited on HS2.
"It has long been clear the costs of HS2 have been allowed to spiral out of control but, since becoming Transport Secretary, I have seen up close the scale of failure in project delivery - and it's dire.
"Taxpayers have a right to expect HS2 to be delivered efficiently and I won't stand for anything less."
The Major Transport Projects Governance and Assurance Review will be led by James Stewart, the former chief executive of Infrastructure º£½ÇÊÓƵ which worked on the Crossrail project in London.
It will present its report to the Government this winter.
The Department for Transport warned that some contracts for companies working on HS2 could be renegotiated or amended as part of the process.
Phase one of HS2 is due to open between 2029 and 2033 and will see a brand new line and four stations built in Birmingham city centre, in Solihull close to the airport and at Old Oak Common and Euston in the capital.
The second phase of the rail line would have run between Birmingham, the East Midlands and Yorkshire and Birmingham, Crewe and Manchester but these have been scrapped in their entirety.
The Government has now denied reports which emerged last week citing government sources who said that phase 2a of HS2, between Birmingham and Crewe, could be resurrected.
The former head of Crossrail Mark Wild was appointed as the new chief executive of HS2 in May but a firm start date in the post is yet to be announced, with chief financial officer Alan Foster performing the role on an interim basis.
A statement from HS2 said: "We welcome the Secretary of State's priorities for HS2 and are committed to working with the new Government to improve delivery.
"We also fully support James Stewart's governance review and look forward to his recommendations.
"HS2 recognises there are many lessons to be learned from delivery to date and, under new leadership, are actively implementing the changes within our control to stabilise costs.
"HS2 is a complex project of strategic importance to the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's rail network which will not only provide better journeys, more services and fewer delays for rail passengers, but will unlock economic growth and tackle regional inequality."
