Gains from HS2 are overstated

I WRITE again over the latest news on HS2 and its benefits. When completed and working it is expected, according to a letter sent to me by the HS2 Group dated August 22, 2013, “to deliver up to £50bn of benefit in England and the development will support 100,000 jobs”.

About 10 days ago a spokesman for the coalition told the country via the media that the benefit will now be in the region of £150bn. In two months the value to this country has trebled.

They appear to be playing with any figure that just comes into their heads, that looks good and will sell HS2 to any idiot that is prepared to listen and vote for them in 2015.

From: CB Booth, Birkin, Knottingley, West Yorkshire.

I CAN’T help feeling that the HS2 project bears many similarities to a previous one: Concorde. They are both about speed, both expensive, and both with no clearly defined commercial value.

One airline, Lufthansa, did an in-depth survey on Concorde and concluded that they wouldn’t have one given to them. They were proved right.

What exactly is to be gained by propelling people to and from London at 225mph escapes me. I personally like travelling by train, it’s nice to relax and eye the passing countryside. At HS2 speed it would just be a blur. In the long run, it will be a very expensive blur.

Short of a heavy and permanent Government subsidy, fares will never recoup the huge cost of carving up yet more of our small island.

A fraction of the projected HS2 money would go a long way to improve rail infrastructure, track and rolling stock – with almost instant financial gains.

Are there no business people about, ore are we all in the hands of dreamers?

From: Cyril Elliott, Monckton Road, Sheffield.

I WOULD like to understand why on earth do we need an HS2 to get to London faster: surely there are enough trains going there and people should catch the earliest possible one.

It is going to cause a lot of disruption, people are going to lose their homes, business people’s property will also suffer. Then comes the farmer who will also lose valuable land on which all kinds of food and meat are produced. Please think about it.

And the cost of this unnecessary project estimated at around £35-40bn will most likely become double that by the time it is finished.

If it does get finished, then there will be the continual maintenance required.

I think that kind of money would be better spent protecting the coastline as this country is getting smaller as it is by coastal erosion, let alone taking valuable land on needless projects.

From: C P Dawson, West Ella Road, West Ella, Hull.

IT is suggested that Ministers have been urged to make clear how HS2 will benefit the whole region if they are to secure unanimous support for the project from across Yorkshire.

The word “unanimous” in itself is suggestive of the fact that unless the support is therefore within that context it is likely to fail, as should rightfully be the case!

So what of Yorkshire?

The benefits for this hugely expensive project, it has to be said, will be solely for those towns and cities like Leeds, York and Sheffield and the greater West and South Yorkshire conurbations that will undoubtedly enjoy the fruits of easy access and hence the benefits to the detriment of the rest of the County, who will see these great hubs, yet again, benefiting from Governmental largesse to their exclusion.

Perhaps of more concern will be the increased level of “polarisition” towards these major hubs by virtue of the inevitable movement of both population and businesses and on all other aspects of modern day living from other parts of the county to the detriment and increasing damage and divisiveness this will inevitably cause to these greater but “forgotten parts”.

From: Trevor Anson, Little Heck.

THE HS2 debate is being stifled by the derring-do boys of the Con/Lib coalition who will offer the toy train set in the window at the forthcoming general election.

Never mind the financial wisdom of so-called ordinary people like your readers, the Government obtained approval in the Commons at the end of October to start spending money on the project, not that they haven’t spent a lot already.

As a humble taxpayer in our impoverished society, I did not catch where this money is coming from.

From: Alan Small, Sandwath Drive, Church Fenton.

THANK you for giving me the opportunity to express my views as a householder affected by the HS2 proposals.

To your readers I would say that we are not “nimbys”, in fact, as retired people it is doubtful if we will ever see it built. To those who arrogantly say let us go ahead and build it whatever I would say, do you really understand blight? It means that overnight we have lost the ability to move house – downsize in our case – or move in connection with employment.

Should we by some great fortune find a buyer, we can expect to lose at least 25 per cent of our house value. Unless our property has to be demolished we cannot expect compensation.

This is why there is such outrage and the formation of some 100 action groups. Unless you are affected by the proposals you probably do not realise the human and environmental damage of this project.

I hope fair-minded people will campaign for a fair deal for us householders and businesses. If we can’t afford that, we shouldn’t build it.