HS2: if they build it, will people come?

The real argument in favour of HS2 is that it could transform the economies of the Midlands and the north, but better project management and a localised approach is needed to make it work

It was a gift for opponents of the planned HS2 fast rail link connecting London with the Midlands and the north. A suppressed government report showed that the Department for Transport thought the 50bn project was unaffordable given other spending commitments.

This embarrassing finding was sneaked out on the day that the government shunted into the sidings promised upgrades of rail lines in the Midlands and the north. Inevitably, the conclusion drawn was that the delays to the electrification of the London-to-Sheffield and Manchester-to-Leeds lines are the unacceptable price being paid for the mounting cost of HS2, a worthy successor to Concorde in the long list of great British white elephants.