HS2 wasn’t just about speed but also about increasing capacity - Yorkshire Post Letters

Henri Murison and David Behrens both had articles about high speed rail in the comments, opinion and analysis section of the Yorkshire Post (Aug 8).

Henri Murison writes: “We also need to get spades in the ground on the linked Northern Powerhouse Rail line to transform that all-important east-west connectivity across the Pennines and up to Newcastle with a through station in Bradford.”

This raises the question: does he know the route the line will take into and out of Bradford so that spades are put into the right ground.

Turning to the article by David Behrens, he claims “Britain’s high-speed rail project is officially ‘unachievable’.”

He criticises the cost of consultants and their work whilst praising the Yorkshire engineers who told the transport department of a way to connect more cities for £20bn less.

The weakness of David Behrens’ case is it focuses on speed and doesn’t address the more important case for increased capacity.

This would mean more freight could be moved by rail instead of by the congested M62.