A “go slow” order on a project invariably spells trouble for those tasked with building it. It is a clear sign the client has got cash flow problems on a job where the costs are proving unpalatable. And when the project in question is the size of HS2 and the client is the government, that is cause for the whole industry to be concerned.

In a blow to common sense, the Department for Transport last week announced HS2’s phase 2a leg from Birmingham to Crewe would be delayed by two years, and from now on work would be prioritised to deliver services between Old Oak Common in west London and Birmingham Curzon Street, which leaves Euston station to be reviewed (read into that “valued engineered”) once again.

We, of course, know the reasons. The government is strapped for cash and HS2, now many billions over its original estimates, is unpopular among many Tory MPs, much of the mainstream media and the public, so with a general election looming it is, frankly, an easy target.