Govt Issues New Flying Pig vs White Elephant Report on HS2

From the BBC website, the government’s latest argument for giving £42.5BILLION of our money over to a white elephant project designed to reinforce two-speed Britain. The sooner we vote the main parties out of power the better:

A government-commissioned report says the alternative to a new HS2 high speed rail link would see 14 years of weekend route closures and longer journeys.

The report, by Network Rail and Atkins, says upgrading existing rail lines would severely affect the East Coast, Midland and West Coast mainlines.

It says that would double travel times between Leeds and London.

The study will inform the government’s updated business case for HS2, which will be presented on Tuesday. It will be the fifth official presentation given by the government on HS2.

Hilary Wharf, director of the campaign group HS2 Action Alliance, said the report was seriously flawed and that upgrading the existing lines would bring bigger benefits to more passengers.

“This government-funded report is a complete fabrication. The main alternative to HS2 involves longer trains and reduced first-class capacity to provide more standard class seats,” she said.

“No work is required at Euston to deliver the necessary capacity increase. Work is only required at three locations on the WCML [West Coast Main Line], and this is comparable to the work being carried out on the route at present.”

A government source said: “We need to do something because our railways are nearly full, but the alternative to HS2 is a patch and mend job that would cause 14 years of gridlock, hellish journeys and rail replacement buses.

“The three main routes to the north would be crippled and the economy would be damaged.”

And the British Chambers of Commerce said changing tack now would be bad for businesses: “Politicians flirting with a U-turn on HS2 are guilty of electoral short-termism and opportunism of the worst kind.

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