HS2 spent more than £20,000 on a single Lego model of one of its railway stations after billions of taxpayer funds were used on the vastly over-budget project.
The equivalent of £1 per piece was spent on a 15,000-brick model of Old Oak Common station, which is set to be a new transport hub in West London offering journeys to the Midlands on high-speed rail.
The fee was paid to consultants Bricks McGee two years ago to recreate the proposed site, and the model has been used at 20 events since.
It is the latest spending controversy faced by the project, which saw its northern leg axed to cut costs and will now only link London to Birmingham.
A Commons public accounts committee (PAC) said last month that the rail project should be studied as an example of “how not to run a major project”, with billions of pounds of taxpayer funds having already been wasted.
The Lego model has been hailed as an “informative way to engage local communities, businesses, rail-users and the general public” in the project by HS2, which said thousands of people had seen the model.
Its design, developed first as a digital model by Bricks McGee, features Lego trees and black cabs to illustrate how the 14-platform station could look.
“Bricks were used to bring the model from the screen to its 3D counterpart – everything from the trees and pool to a community art wall, cycle lanes, bus stops and taxis are included,” the consultancy firm said on its website. It added that the project was “an outstanding success, everybody loved it”.
A spokesperson for HS2 said: “Our Lego model of HS2’s Old Oak Common superhub is an informative way to engage local communities, businesses, rail-users and the general public about construction of part of Britain’s new high-speed railway. It has been seen by thousands of people since it was commissioned more than two years ago, helping those affected by the build, as well as future passengers, better understand the station.”
Last week, the boss of the company building HS2 claimed the project has “great value, intrinsic value” and will “prove its worth”.
Mark Wild, who joined HS2 Ltd at the start of December 2024, said: “The project has got itself into some difficulty, so my job is to reset it, put it back on track. It is true, we did the same thing in Crossrail, which should give us a lot of hope and benefit going forward.”
Mr Wild was hired to lead the Crossrail project – a new east-west railway line across London – in November 2018 after the project had suffered major delays and run over-budget.
In relation to Old Oak Common station, Mr Wild said “nobody’s built on this scale”, and the opening will be a “catalytic event”.
He went on: “When we open Old Oak Common station, you will be 31 minutes from Birmingham International, the airport. You’ll be 42 minutes from the centre of Birmingham.
“[There will be] great connectivity to the West Country, Heathrow Airport and, of course, into London on the Elizabeth line. Old Oak Common will become one of the most connected places in the United Kingdom.”
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