By
omitting it from the recent Queen’s speech, the Government has quietly kicked
their flagship transport policy, High Speed 2 (HS2), into the long grass. I’m
reluctant to call the ditching of this policy a U-turn, as trains find that
particular manoeuvre impossible.
HS2 was
always destined to fail. Per mile, the £29bn cost equates to five times that
spent by the French on the Paris-Strasbourg line in 2007. Money would be better
used for electrification of the Midlands main line and improving our creaking
road network. For Rugby, HS2 means reduced frequency of existing trains while
it bypasses our town completely.
The
arguments over transport speed and service are of course secondary to the
massive destruction of the Warwickshire countryside HS2 would bring. Ripping
asunder historic landscapes and obliterating communities as it goes, areas of
outstanding natural beauty and historic woodland would be lost forever.
The
imminent death of the HS2 project shows the power of democracy. Although the
nation shows no enthusiasm for this vanity project of the metropolitan elite, the
building of HS2 is still official policy for all three main political parties.
Fortunately the power of strong, reasoned arguments seems to be winning out and
HS2 is hitting the buffers.
