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Campaigners opposed to the HS2 high speed rail network have seized on claims the project will cost double the official estimate.

The claims HS2 will cost £111 billion, twice as much as the official £55.7 billion figure being used by Government and HS2 Ltd, were made in the Sunday Times newspaper.

The claims relate to an estimate prepared by Michael Byng which was commissioned by the Department for Transport .

Mr Byng is a rail expert who has designed the standard method of costing adopted by Network Rail, after a number of its schemes went over budget.

According to the Sunday Times he said Phase 1 between London and Birmingham would cost £48 billion, with construction of the entire project coming in at £104 billion.

Another £7 billion would need to be added to cover the cost of trains, putting the total bill for HS2 at £111 billion.

The Sunday Times reports Mr Byng had originally been asked to use his model to re-evaluate the costs of the section between Euston and Old Oak Common, which he put at £8.25 billion.

Speaking to the Sunday Times Mr Byng said: “HS2 has not questioned the figure, or my methodology, nor have they come up with any structured estimate of their own.

“A couple of days later I got a call from the DfT saying, look, if 6.6 miles is going to cost us £8.25 billion, what chance have we got of getting to Birmingham? I said: I’ll work it out for you.”

Today’s claims come before what is expected to be a busy week for HS2.

It is thought consultants will produce final designs for Phase 1 from London to Birmingham and that a bill will be deposited in Parliament for the Phase 2a extension as far as Crewe.

Also likely to be on the agenda is the publication of the final route for Phase 2b to Manchester and Leeds.

Stop HS2 campaign manager Joe Rukin said: “The cost of HS2 has already doubled once since it was first proposed so it should come as no surprise to anyone that it might double again, but when it is the man who wrote the book on estimating rail projects saying this, Government should really listen.

“With it being so obvious to everyone who lives in the real world that there are so many far more important priorities for public spending, it seems utterly insane that the Government are still wedded to this vainglorious vanity project and all its’ false promises.”

“With the final design for HS2 not due for another 18 months, it is already two years late and that redesign will almost certainly jack up the costs again.

“Since the start, the case for HS2 has been invented by the very cheerleaders who intend to rake in billions of taxpayers’ money which is desperately needed elsewhere, so it really is time to ditch this gigantic white elephant, before it is too late.”