Do we really need HS2 or is it a very expensive project we could do without? Read on to discover the real facts behind the headlines by John Slater. Most people have heard about HS2, some may even know quite a lot of the detail. However, how many fully understand the full implications this will bring in reality. The impact on our community, and the effect it will have on all of us would be long lasting. Even those who do not live near the proposed HS2 route will be affected one way or another. The effects in our local areas In Trowell and Long Eaton, action groups have been set up to protest against HS2, with the objective of stopping it altogether. The reason we feel so strongly about this is not just because of the adverse effects on our local towns and villages, but is more about the huge amount of money that will be required to build it. The Department for Transport has approved this plan with no real justification for it in the first place, as I will explain shortly. So how much will HS2 cost? The budget for HS2 has risen from £32 billion in 2010, to £56 billion in 2015, and this year the National Audit Office has put the figure at £63 billion. To many people those figures don’t mean a lot, because they are difficult to imagine in a practical way. Let’s just say that if you spent a million pounds every day, £63 billion would last for 175 years!! It is a HUGE amount of money. What if the HS2 doesn’t come near my area? If you think you won’t be affected by HS2 just think on a few probable situations: 1.The construction phase will take several years, whilst bridges, viaducts, cuttings and tunnels arte built. The works will cross several main roads. That will create traffic disruption and congestion on a scale we’ve not seen in the past. Your journey by car will be seriously lengthened, for a number of years. 2. If you travel by train on the existing rail services, these are likely to be affected if HS2 goes ahead. The loss of revenue to those existing rail networks will force their prices up whilst cutting some of their services. A double whammy. 3. The funding for this is being met by the taxpayer, and with amount of capital required that tax will have to come from somewhere, so other services are sure to be affected. The NHS, the emergency services, new housing, and social services, all need extra funding. The priority though seems to be building a railway that we don’t really need. The wider picture The Government’s justification for needing HS2 has changed numerous times over the last few years, showing that it was ill conceived and not considered properly from the start. It would appear that the decision to go ahead was made before any justification was considered at all.The case for HS2 has been made using a series of myths and fanciful statistics.
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