There is no shortage of places to start when trying to make sense of what went wrong for HS2 and how for around twice the original budget we’re getting half the line that was planned.
One starting place is the name itself - High Speed 2.
Nobody wants a slow railway. But was it ever wise to build a super-fast one?
HS2’s journey began in the 1980s. Rail experts looked across the channel at France’s new high-speed TGV network and dreamed of a similar service here.
The TGV trains swishing through the French countryside at just under 200 mph were in stark contrast to the UK’s creaking rolling stock.
HS2 promised gleaming new trains racing between English cities at even faster speeds.
A government commissioned study in 2006 had concluded Britain needed greater rail capacity. Launching his report, Sir Rod Eddington said: “My first recommendation to Government is…to improve the capacity and the performance of the existing transport network.”
He was lukewarm on speed.
cont
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98486dzxnzo
