MPs question Government's case for high speed rail

BUSINESS LEADERS have argued high speed rail is vital to the future of the Yorkshire economy after MPs questioned whether the project represents value for money.
How Leeds station might look when HS2 arrivesHow Leeds station might look when HS2 arrives
How Leeds station might look when HS2 arrives

The Public Accounts Committee claimed that taxpayers could not rely on the Government’s case for investing in the planned HS2 line between London and Yorkshire.

It criticised the Government for not applying the lessons from HS1 - the high speed rail line connecting London to the Channel Tunnel - to HS2.

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MPs expressed concern that the Government’s own study showed HS1 was “poor value for money” and officials had tried to claim their were “wider, wider benefits” not taken into account by their own figures.

The PAC’s report, published today, also pointed out that the sale of the Government’s stake in cross-Channel rail service Eurostar last year for £757 million was “significantly less” than the £3 billion invested by taxpayers.

PAC chairwoman Meg Hillier said: “Taken together these facts raise serious questions about the government’s approach to valuing public assets, as well as its commitment to considering the value for money of public spending on such expensive projects.”

Ms Hillier added: “HS2 would require huge public investment and taxpayers are rightly concerned that their money should be spent wisely.

“This case will do nothing to reassure them.”

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The HS2 line is due to be built in two phases at a cost of around £55 billion with the first stretch connecting London and Birmingham before splitting to form a Y with arms heading north to Manchester and Leeds including a stop in South Yorkshire.

Work is also underway on plans for transpennine high speed rail services, known as HS3.

Business groups have long argued that improving transport connections is key to strengthening Yorkshire’s economy.

Gerald Jennings, president of the Leeds Chamber of Commerce, said: “Whilst the Public Accounts Committee is right to hold Government to account over its management of public funds we should not allow this latest announcement to hold back investment into infrastructure which will transform the UK economy.

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“As part of the rebalancing agenda, HS2 and HS3 are vital and must not be considered in isolation as standalone pieces of infrastructure which may or may not be sold off at a later date.

“Instead they must be viewed as part of a wider series of ongoing and sequential investments which will strengthen the economies, of the north in particular, and the UK as a whole.”

The Government is expected to set out the final route for the stretch of HS2 through Yorkshire later this year and decide whether the proposed station in South Yorkshire should be at Meadhowhall, as originally proposed, or moved to Sheffield City Centre.

HS2 and the redevelopment of Leeds station are already major parts of Leeds City Council’s economic plans.