Letters: Don't forget why HS1 failed

Jul 21 2011 Buckinghamshire Advertiser

NOWHERE in any of the information supplied by HS2 in their roadshow or public relations material is it mentioned that HS1 in Kent has failed because it has not created significant business growth or an improved passenger service, despite the huge amount of taxpayers' money spent (and the vast sums lost in the subsequent sell-off to foreign operators).

The developers of HS2 rely on some deeply flawed projections which, as we have seen, do not stand up to scrutiny.

Philip Hammond continues to ignore the truth. His only concern is to tick a box now and we will soon be £32bn-plus the poorer.

That's regardless of where the railway's cross-country trench is to be gouged and whichever of our 'protected' areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs) or National Parks are damaged, as a result of the plan to build HS2 to Birmingham and, using billions of pounds more, further north-west and north-east of there.