Tunnel vision

It could be that the newly-appointed Transport Secretary simply wants further details about the venture. Alternatively Ms Greening may have misgivings about the whole concept – or she is simply playing for time so that the Government can win over its critics in the Home Counties.

The leaked report that an additional £500m could be spent on a tunnel to appease the Buckinghamshire constituents of Cheryl Gillan, the Welsh Secretary, could suggest the latter and Ms Greening’s tone, so far, has been less confrontational than the language used by Philip Hammond, her more pugnacious predecessor.

That said, there will be little prospect of the HS2 network from London to Yorkshire and the North West remaining financially viable if the Government caves in so readily to the plan’s opponents; this is one policy where the national economic interest needs to trump local considerations.

In the meantime, all those who have campaigned so effectively for the Government to embrace the HS2 scheme need to lobby Ms Greening. Though she was born in Rotherham, the Minister represents Putney, a suburban London seat that already boasts excellent bus and rail links into the capital that she wants improving still further.

However Ms Greening now commands national responsibilities and she needs to become appraised about how Yorkshire’s potential is being stalled by inadequate commuter services – and every delay to beset the HS2 grand plan.

In short, this time lapse has to be spent reminding Justine Greening about the importance of a high-speed rail network to this country’s future infrastructure and prospects.