The government has revised down the benefits of the HS2 high-speed rail link relative to the cost.
The expected cost of the project has risen by £10 billion to £42.6 billion, and this has resulted in the expected benefit-cost ratio (BRC) to fall from £2.50 to £2.30 in benefits for every pound invested.
A newly released government-commissioned report by Network Rail and Atkins said that the alternative to HS2, upgrading the existing rail links, would mean 14 years of work with 2,770 weekend route closures that would severely affect the East Coast, Midland, and West Coast mainlines.
Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin has called for cross-party support for HS2, saying:
We need a radical solution and HS2 is it. A patch and mend job will not do – the only option is a new north south railway.
HS2 brings massive benefits to the north, is great for commuters and the alternatives just don’t stack up.
Now is the time to be bold and deliver a world class railway which Britain deserves and can truly be proud of. Future generations will not forgive us if we fail to take this opportunity.
The consensus in Westminster is that Labour may oppose the building of HS2, but both leader Ed Miliband and shadow chancellor Ed Balls have previously made statements of conditional support for the project. In fact it appears that the Labour party is divided throughout by the question, in the shadow cabinet to local councillors in affected areas.
UK High speed rail map
2 Comments
What I do not understand is that the HS2 proposal is based on only 30% of HS2 travellers being business travellers. The Department of Transport briefing sheet entitled “Fares on Long Distance Rail and HS2 London to West Midlands” states “We expect that the majority of passengers on HS2 (70%) would be leisure passengers, . . . “. Where will all these leisure passengers come from and how robust are the forecasts of their numbers? Of course HS2 is of no benefit to the communities along its route – it is a way of getting between two points and only two points (London and Birmingham) – and, as reported last week, it is also likely to damage communities away from its route. High Speed rail is not ‘green’ – the energy used (and hence the CO2 created) increases with the square of the speed so those extra minutes saved come at a great environmental cost.
Hi,
HS2 less beneficial than predicted. The project will be will be influenced by the referendum decision in Scotland.