Coronavirus proves that HS2 is not needed as executives turn to Skype

THE current coronavirus outbreak seems to have highlighted the use of telephone conferencing, Skype, and other forms of telecommunications. Anyone who is self-isolating or working from home can use many forms of technology to be able to speak directly to fellow colleagues. Indeed many MPs and the media are doing just that. The commuter trains have been seen to be almost empty recently as more and more people stay at home, so, why is there any need for HS2? It is costing the country billions of borrowed pounds, spiralling the country into debt that it cannot afford, and carving a massive eyesore through ancient woodland, fields, beautiful countryside and ruining the lives of the people who live either in its proposed path or near to it. The building works will cause much disruption, noise and dirt for years with huge lorries driving through our villages, breaking up the potholed roads. The habitats of hundreds of species of fauna and flora will be erased for good, trees will be felled at a time when we need trees to combat climate change. In our lovely valley in Barnburgh and Harlington, trains will thunder through the area on an embankment which we will not be able to see over and we will have to listen to the noise the trains make all day and into the night. The proposed embankment will be 20 metres high, 120 metres wide and there will be an additional six metres of gantries above the line to hold electric cables. The Government has not mentioned how much a ticket will cost. Perhaps the only people using it will be the ones whose companies pay the price of the journey. It will certainly be the minority who will use it round here. We will have to travel miles to get to a station, it will be far quicker to catch a train at Doncaster and travel on a train arriving 20 minutes later than HS2 would. OK, they all say our children and our children’s children may benefit, but not at the expense of their environment and technology will have moved on by the time this massive waste of money is eventually finished. Before I retired we used telephone conferencing and video links so is there any need for corporate get-togethers in this age of technology? I see it as an ego trip for those involved who are not prepared to see sense and cancel it. No doubt they are hoping for knighthoods, OBEs and a great fat pension.