Transport secretary Philip Hammond launches consultation citing poll showing public support for network
A battle between the government and voters in the Tory heartlands over a £30bn north-south rail link enters a new phase as transport secretary Philip Hammond launches a consultation on the 250mph route.
Hammond will cite a poll showing five times as many people support the High Speed Two network as oppose it. Local opponents on the London-to-Birmingham phase of the project argue that it is misconceived. The consultation documents will outline the economic arguments in favour of the extended scheme, while giving further details on mitigating the noise impact on the first part of a network that passes through Conservative constituencies in Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire as well as the Chiltern Hills area of outstanding natural beauty. The London-to-Birmingham section is due to open in 2026.
"High Speed Two will be a piece of national infrastructure which will bring benefits to Britain as a whole," Hammond said. "Of course we will do everything we can to mitigate the impacts on areas like the Chilterns but projects like this have to be decided on the basis of the national interest and the overall net benefits it will bring to Britain." The consultation will feature proposals for extending the London-to-Birmingham link to Leeds and Manchester, although it will not include detailed route plans.
Opponents claim that the business case is flawed and makes unrealistic assumptions about passenger demand
A spokesman for the HS2 Action Alliance also derided estimates that the London-to-Birmingham route will create 40,000 jobs. "The Government claim that HS2 is going to create 40,000 new jobs is something for which there is no evidence. Even if it was true, at nearly £500,000 per job it must go down as one of the most expensive job creation schemes in history and yet again shows what a multibillion pound white elephant this project will be."