The chief executive of the company implementing the HS2 railway project has said she believes Labour is still strongly supportive of the scheme.
Alison Munro acknowledged that HS2 would not be viable unless there was political consensus about its merits.
Senior Labour figures have voiced concerns about HS2's rising budget.
But former Labour transport secretary Lord Adonis warned his party not to give in to the "intense" temptation to cancel the scheme.
That would be an "act of national self-mutilation", he wrote, in an article for the New Statesman.
Ms Munro told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I should point out that Maria Eagle, who is the Labour transport spokesperson, yesterday confirmed her very strong support for HS2."
Opposition leader Ed Miliband has also said he is a "supporter" of the HS2 rail project but it should be scrutinised for "value for money".
'Very strong case'But shadow chancellor Ed Balls told the BBC on Friday that he was concerned that the budget had gone "up and up".
End Quote Alison Munro HS2 chief executiveI'd really like to knock on the head this talk of costs spiralling out of control"
He said: "We have consistently supported plans for a north-south rail link but it's got to work, it's got to be value for money."
A future Labour government would not offer the scheme a "blank cheque", he added.
But Ms Munro responded: "We are not asking for a blank cheque and we don't have a blank cheque."
She added: "I'd really like to knock on the head this talk of costs spiralling out of control. That is simply not true."
The new budget included a £14bn contingency fund, she said, "recognising that we can't at this stage predict everything that will happen in the future".
But HS2 Ltd was "determined" not to use up this part of the budget, she said.
Ms Munro concluded: "There's a very strong case for this project.
"Over the last 15 years we've seen the number of people making long-distance journeys on the railway double, and our existing railway, which was built in Victorian times, has served us very well, but it just doesn't have the capacity that we will need going forward.
"By the middle of the next decade, the railway will be full. We need a very significant increase in capacity."
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