The Anonymous Widower

The Real Arguments For HS2 Start Now!

The government has announced the route of HS2 this morning, as is detailed in this article on the BBC.

There is going to be masses of opposition.

In fact, I think that the amount of opposition is such, that the line will not get built.  certainly, as I look forward at 65, I doubt I’ll ever see it.

Let’s face it, if you had a referendum, which asked if we wanted a high speed rail or more motorways, the man stuck in the jam on the M1 would vote for the roads.

HS2 also doesn’t help our biggest transport problem of the next twenty years. Or at least not directly! How do we get all the freight containers, to and from the major ports like Southampton, Felixstowe and Thames Haven? It deals with them indirectly, by making more paths available on the classic lines to the North and Scotland, especially if a few strategic freight by-passes are built and lines like Ipswich to Nuneaton are electrified.

There also seems to be a lots of opponents saying that London and the South East will be the biggest beneficiary. So perhaps we should built it from Birmingham to Scotland? Or at least that should be the first phase to open!

There is the classic opportunity here for a political party to fight an election on an anti-HS2 platform. I don’t think, any of the three major parties would do this, but who’s to say, some smaller party wouldn’t? After all, UKIP has said no to the project in this article on its web site.

January 28, 2013 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Birmingham, Freight, High Speed Two, Trains