HS2 Humbug: Another nail in its coffin!

Dec 12 2011 By Sally Knowles, Daughter of Humbug

I have been very encouraged to read the results of the survey commissioned by HS2AA on current capacity utilisation on the West Coast Mainline, reported in the Financial Times last weekend.

They clearly show that these trains are nowhere near filled in the rush hour, although they are up to full capacity after 7 o’clock in the evening when very much cheaper tickets become available! No surprise there! The point is that, once again, the Government’s arguments are flawed and based on
incorrect data! How can anyone seriously argue in favour of this project?

What a rumpus following the Transport Secretary’s decision to postpone the decision on HS2 and the report in the Telegraph that extra money had been found to extend the tunnel beyond Amersham!

On the one hand, it is encouraging to hear that Justine Greening is taking extra time to consider the whole project following the report from the Parliamentary Select Committee; I cannot imagine Philip Hammond announcing anything other than a complete go-ahead! However, it is imperative that we
do not get carried away by possible local mitigation and forget our long-running opposition to HS2 on so many grounds.

There are communities along the length of the proposed line who will receive no benefit from spending an extra £500 million in the Chilterns. An added concern is that no-one quite knows where the suggestion that the tunnel would be extended came from; it was not mentioned in the official announcement.

This link is well worth watching: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swKabV-ZW-o. It is a short film by Jerry Marshall which says it all!