Goodbye HS2 …..Hello HS2-lite?
min readThe beleaguered railway project, HS2, was to herald a new dawn of railway transportation in the UK and was to deliver economic benefits beyond London and the South East into the rest of the Country as part of the previous Government's ‘levelling-up’ agenda.
The decision though to cancel all but the leg between London and Birmingham cast a cloud over the project that even Noah (of the flood) would have been proud of.
The only real defence (aside from saving public money) seemed to be based around the benefits of stopping in Birmingham in freeing up of railway capacity across what is a very busy rail route alongside noises about infrastructure integrity.
No doubt those arguments did little to convince those north of Birmingham that this was a decision from which they stood to benefit. No doubt there are similar capacity concerns north of the current proposed HS2 stopping point.
Former Chancellor, George Osborne called the cancellation of the northern section of the line “infrastructure vandalism” and he was not alone in voicing criticism.
Significant monies were spent on Phase 2 pre-cancellation, properties were acquired and compensation was paid to a number of those affected and all for pretty-much nothing ….. or so it seemed.
There may still be that new dawn that many dreamed of as a new, HS2-lite, version of the plans seems to be in formation.
No it will not deliver all that HS2 in the North might have delivered but, if it can get off the ground, then it might genuinely be a large step in the right direction.
We now wait and see whether this is pipe dream or reality but no doubt the current Government could do with a shot in the arm that could deliver real economic growth.
The Telegraph understands no final decision has been taken on whether to build the West Midlands-North West line, but that officials see it as the only viable option to ease capacity problems in the next decade.Ministers are also tempted by the potential economic benefits of linking Manchester – one of the country’s fastest-growing cities – with London. A group of businesses wrote to the Treasury last year to request backing for the project in the Autumn Budget, arguing that HS2-lite could unlock up to £70 billion a year in growth.
