HS2: London-Birmingham

As expected, Old Holborn has some choice words on the London-Birmingham High Speed rail link.

From: http://bastardoldholborn.blogspot.com/2012/01/high-speed-fail.html

” I have no problem with high speed rail, … and am happy to pay for that service, but I will not be forced, through taxation, to subsidise the building of a network that I will then be charged to use. As if we don’t have any experience of letting private finance raise the capital, our Government is keen to plunder the earnings of people who will never use a high speed railway network to the Midlands so that the history books will gleefully show the Transport Minister cutting the ribbon on yet another vanity project designed to show us, the people paying for it all, how benevolent our Politicians are for “facilitating” a new era of transport.

If business wants a high speed rail network, business knows what it has to do. Raise the capital and build one – build it and they will come. But no, our glorious politicians are FAR too interested in the glory of the State for national infrastructure to be left to people who actually have money to risk, so once again, a shelf stacker from Truro will be forced to cough up for a political project that will add no value to his existence and our glorious leaders can pretend they are doing something for the “nation”, using money we don’t have to spend if only we would allow the market to decide.

Dig deep folks, there’s plenty more “national infrastructure” projects to come as Government tries to spend money we don’t have on projects we don’t want and can’t afford. All in the name of State “progress”. “

Similarly, a commentator in The Scotsman (http://www.scotsman.com/news/letters/jobs_plan_off_track_1_2044296) has concerns:

” Am I being naive, or can someone explain how building a high- speed rail link between London and Birmingham can support the creation of one million jobs (your report, 7 January).

Obviously, there will be some short-term jobs created during construction and a few on a longer term basis, but one million?

We hear the same every time a new business park is created or when a supermarket opens a new unwanted superstore.

If a business is looking to expand or an entrepreneur wishes to create a new business, then surely they will do so anyway once ready to do so and when they have all the constituent parts in place. If creating jobs is so easy, then why not build a high speed line between Ayr and Lochgelly and create a million jobs across the Central Belt? Look how well Edinburgh has done with creating jobs as a result of the tram line. “

Quite a few MPs are showing thier dissaproval (Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2083825/HS2-David-Cameron-faces-high-speed-rail-rebellion-ahead-500m-tunnel.html):

” The Prime Minister faces a revolt from ministers, backbench MPs and local councils over this week’s expected go-ahead for a new high speed rail route from London to Birmingham.

More than 30 MPs could vote against the £32billion scheme, while some ministers – including Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan – may resign.

Eighteen councils oppose the project and one of them, Aylesbury Vale, is preparing the case for a judicial review. …”

Official StopHS2 protest song – ‘Oak Tree Lament’ filmed in some of the areas to be affected by the proposed HS2 route (http://youtu.be/hdruOY7clX0).