Transport expert’s doubts on viability of HS2

Speaking to the Yorkshire Post, Phil White CBE, a former chief executive of National Express Group, said the existing rail line from Yorkshire to London “just needs updating and modernising” and that journey times are “already very quick”.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin recently downplayed the significance of shorter journey times – the original selling point of the scheme – and said that the argument for the project should always have been about capacity.

He claims that, without HS2, key rail routes would be “overwhelmed” by rising passenger numbers.

The proposed £50bn high-speed line represents the biggest rail project in generations to link Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester with Birmingham and London.

Mr White said he was “always sceptical” about whether the HS2 rail link would attract more business to the North based on a reduction in journey times.

“It’s always worrying when something that’s going to cost a fortune... when you change the logic of the argument before the thing’s even built.

“My own personal point of view is that there’s a lot more we could do with the existing railway to make it work better.”

The HS2 line is set to link London to Birmingham by 2026. Two second-phase branches to Manchester and Leeds, through Sheffield, are planned by 2032.

Mr White added: “It’s a lot of money and you’re talking 20 years away. I think if you spent a little less money more quickly you’d get a better return, that’s my view.”

Mr White said there has not been enough investment in the railway service from Yorkshire to London and raised concerns over its reliability and punctuality.

He said that the rolling stock is “very old” compared to that on the West Coast, making journeys “even more unreliable and uncomfortable”.

Mr White, who has just taken up the position of chair of the board of governors at Leeds Metropolitan University, said: “I just don’t think the quality of the kit and the quality of the track are up to it.”

The Institute of Directors said in August that it could not support the Government’s current economic case for HS2 when so many of its members were doubtful of the benefits.

The body said that investment in the West and East Coast main lines combined with a variety of other infrastructure projects would be “a far more sensible option”.

The East Coast main line was taken into public hands in 2009 to maintain services following the collapse of the contract with operator National Express.

National Express won the contract for the East Coast main line in 2007 after it was surrendered by GNER, but could not keep up with the £1.3bn in premium payments it agreed to pay the Government.

The current Government has announced plans to have the franchise back in the private sector by February 2015.

Mr White was chief executive of National Express Group from 1997 to 2006. He spent much of his early career at passenger transport executives in South and West Yorkshire.

He was finance director of bus company Yorkshire Rider in Leeds from 1986 to 1994. He is currently chairman of motor group Lookers, construction and property group Kier, student accommodation firm Unite Group and Meridian Motor Group. He is also on the boards of Stagecoach Group and VP.

Originally from Sheffield, Mr White studied accountancy and economics at the University of Leeds and qualified as a chartered accountant at Deloitte.

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