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The rail thing

I think it would be near political suicide to become a champion of HS2. You would be supporting a project that has now failed so completely that it is classified as 'amber/ red' by the gateway process of the cabinet's Major Projects Authority; the chair of the Public Accounts Committee has torn the assumptions behind the case for HS2 to shreds; you would be spending upwards of £33 billion of UK tax payers money on a scheme that then - as a 'core' route – will be HANDED OVER TO THE EU to run, separated from Parliamentary over sight; you will be pushing a route where over 90% in a public consultation said 'no'; you will be pushing a route that will overwhelmingly benefit London and pretending it is in the national interest; telling desperate commuters all over the country that there is no money for them until after HS2 is completed (in 2050?); following in the footsteps of one UNELECTED champion (Adonis), another who referred to it unashamedly as 'a rich man's toy', and a third (Greening) who displays complete two-faced cheek when she makes identical arguments in relation to her opposition to Heathrow (protecting her constituents) and them rubbishes those same arguments in relation to HS2. What we ACTUALLY need is a champion that will commit to developing an integrated national transport strategy; and yes – commit to spending the same amount that HS2 will cost but right across the country, in relation to urgent passenger and freight needs, and with real impacts on greening our transport infrastructure. That’s what ‘the real thing’ is.

4 May 2012

4:56 pm