The chairman of the company responsible for High Speed Two (HS2), Sir Jon Thompson, is set to step down next year. Having served on the board of HS2 Ltd for nearly four years, he first joined as a non-executive director in April 2021.
He was appointed as the company’s chair in February 2023 and took over the running of the firm in September that year as executive chair following the resignation of chief executive Mark Thurston, as reported by .
In May, it was announced that former Crossrail boss Mark Wild had been hired as HS2’s new chief executive.
The process of recruiting a new chair will commence shortly, according to HS2 Ltd. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander expressed her gratitude to Sir Jon, stating: "I want to thank Sir Jon for his work over nearly four years to progress Britain’s largest rail project."
She added: "He has provided strong leadership during challenging times for the project, and we are grateful for his service."
She also noted that with the appointment of a new CEO and an incoming new Chair, HS2 will see new leadership next year, tasked with gripping budgets and schedules and delivering the line as cost-effectively as possible for passengers and taxpayers.
Sir Jon's career began in local government before he joined the Civil Service, working for Ofsted, the Department for Education and Ministry of Defence. He has previously held the position of chief executive at HMRC and the Financial Reporting Council.
The news of Sir Jon's departure comes just days after confidential government documents, shared with the Financial Times, revealed that costs for the London Euston section of HS2 have escalated to over £7.5bn. In 2023, the National Audit Office (NAO) nearly doubled its cost projection for the new station to £4.8bn.
However, a Department for Transport (DfT) document, labelled "official – sensitive: commercial," provides a more comprehensive view of the required funding. Reports also suggest that the estimated cost of constructing the entire HS2 project has increased by £9bn to £66bn.
According to the FT, a DfT report due on Tuesday will reference an HS2 board paper from June this year which estimated the project cost at between £54bn and £66bn in 2019 prices.
