HS2 – why it’s time to pull the plug on the fantasy | Letters
Larry Elliott's main argument in favour of HS2 (Why 'build it, they will come' might just work for HS2, 29 June) is a flimsy basis for spending 50bn of public money. If the key objective is to provide a catalyst for growth in the Midlands and the north, it is no less likely that HS2 will simply further increase the economic dominance of London and the south-east. The same 50bn really could be spent on transport projects that would benefit the north and the national economy with much greater certainty. And given Network Rail's record in carrying out much more straightforward projects, how can one have any faith that HS2 can be built within budget or on schedule (whose timeline is already stretching into the 2030s)? If the government is determined to press ahead with this highly dubious scheme, it could at least save several billion pounds, greatly simplify and shorten its implementation, and - during the many years of planned construction - avoid the inevitable disruption of regular services into Euston and massive economic and social costs for the Euston and Camden Town communities, by switching the London terminus to Old Oak Common (OOC). With the completion of Crossrail, OOC also has the potential to provide much better connectivity for HS2 passengers into central London.
Tim Lankester
London
" It is saddening to see Larry Elliott arguing a case for HS2. His article is rightly well qualified with the words "might" and "could". His evidence for HS2's possible benefit is a study of how Berlin expanded when a public transport system helped open up peripheral countryside land and made it attractive to developers. Promoting the expansion of an existing city in this way - the Metropolitan Railway and the growth of London would be another example - is an entirely different matter from spending 50bn to speed up travel between one existing highly developed city centre and another, especially when they are already connected by a fast and frequent rail service.
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