Mail Online

Axeing HS2 would be political suicide

HS2 chief executive Mark Thurston was quoted in 2021 as saying that HS2 would be an affordable railway to ensure trains can be used by ‘all working people’. An exciting analogy, but spiralling costs have caused important parts of the planned network to be put back.

The short 100-mile southern section now being focused on, from Acton in London to Birmingham, is of little realistic benefit to the working people of Britain. The CEO was perhaps inspired by the Chinese highspeed rail system, but there is no comparison. That is an affordable high-speed railway for the working people of China, and time savings on the Chinese system are generally massive over former rail journeys, mostly because of the large distances travelled at high speed.

For example, the Beijing to Shanghai HS line shaves more than ten hours off the old journey time. The HS2 journey from London to Birmingham is expected to save 20 minutes. There are thousands of jobs and businesses depending on HS2 and so many billions of taxpayers’ money already spent that would make cancellation of the project political suicide and an international embarrassment.

Phill Norman, Birmingham

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2023-03-19T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-19T07:00:00.0000000Z

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