Community drop-in events in Whittington will give people the chance to discuss the impact of road closures, tree felling and disruption from HS2.
One event takes place at Darnford moors Golf Club from 4.15pm to 6.30pm on 14th November, while a second will be held at Whittington Village Hall from 4pm to 6pm on 22nd November.
Residents will be able to find out more about the high speed rail project and have questions answered.
The only update I want to see is when they are going to scrap this white elephant, government vanity project, and spend the billions of pounds involved on something worthwhile, like our crumbling NHS.
I am sure the event will confirm HS2 is going brilliantly. On budget and on time.
At the same time. Senior managers are writing to the government, saying they are behind schedule and the budget is spiralling out of control.
The justification for HS2 is rapidly disappearing. It seems highly probable it will not go beyond Birmingham and that the changes in working practices massively reduces its need anyway.
HS2 are moving heaven and earth (lots of it) in case the plug is pulled so they can maximise compensation claims.
Such projects that pass through urban areas are bound to be very, very expensive. This massive expense (100 billion plus) is hideous in the present circumstances. The motives for its construction have been questionably from the start. Time to call it a day.
HS1 has never made a penny.. HS2 with “work from home” growing it is never going to be more than David Cameron’s vanity project which we simply cannot afford. The Liverpool to Hull rail line needs vast improvements which was promised but never actioned.
HS2 is a hugely costly project, now well over £110 Billion, yet has no positive economic benefit. It was originally conceived several decades ago when people needed to travel to communicate but, today, much communication is electronic and requires no physical movement. This effectively renders HS2 obsolete.
The huge sums of public money being wasted on HS2 could be much better spent updating the existing transport network, particularly in the socially and economically deprived northern half of England, which has been neglected for many decades by successive Governments.
There, bus services are fast disappearing and rail services reduced, with fares rising to the point where many people cannot afford to travel to work.
May I offer a defence of HS2, based on current evidence, while I try to answer the points made by other contributors.
The return to ‘the office’ continues apace. All rail services show increasing passenger numbers, with official data giving an average of 90%+ of pre-covid levels, with some services exceeding 120% of pre-covid.
No comprehensive economic evaluation of HS2 has ever been attempted, eg the benefits of significant extra capacity on other main lines. Yes, the cost is high, but this is spread over several decades and the line will be an asset into at least the next century. Passengers are still using the Stevensons’ lines after 192 years.
Our rail network operates at full train capacity and, without HS2, we can only increase passenger and freight transport by expanding roads and domestic air travel. Neither is an acceptable alternative, given current environmental concerns.
@Atrax…. If there is accountability that is needed then where is all the money going for this gravy train. Yes the costs are spread over several parliaments but it is a steady and ever increasing drain on the countries resources, and with long term consequences. It will almost certainly not contribute to the evening up of the north south divide, which was partly how it was sold. Less so now there will be no northern extension.
In spite of the extortionate rail fairs few, if any, rail networks run efficiently. The government has had to withdraw the contracts from some. How HS2 is supposed to help this is more a case of hope over experience. They cannot run the services they already have.
The price for HS2 use is likely to be affordable only to the expenses class. I rather suspect that was the plan anyway. A bit like Concord on rails. It is unlikely to relieve much of the passenger congestion on the west coast line (well that between London and Birmingham anyway).
G’Day Philip and other readers
Please bear with me if my response requires two ‘chapters’ – this is a complex subject.
I accept that the cost of HS2 makes the eyes water, but that does seem to be a feature of large infrastructure projects in the U.K. We are, however, seeing benefits, eg young people being trained in engineering, raising our skills base. Here in London, CrossRail is now operating and the complaints about cost have vanished, as two million passengers use the service each week and TfL gains a significant cash boost. The ‘locals’ think it’s brilliant. HS2 will achieve the same on its own lines and THREE other main lines, moving far more people and freight.
Without HS2, these lines will fossilise, with airline ticketing introduced, high fares used to reduce demand and local services / freight cut to create paths for long distance services. This WILL be a network limited to the better off, which certainly doesn’t include me !!
Part 2 …
Part 2 – Levelling up
As a resident of the South-East, I have access to excellent rail services, eg a (weekend) Travelcard costs me less than £10 and gives unlimited travel in London, with frequent services, on modern trains, buses etc.
I absolutely agree that the Midlands and North deserve the same, instead of the current, totally unacceptable shambles !!
But ALL the solutions to these long term problems require major investment, with HS2 the key. HS2 creates the necessary extra train capacity, across these regions.
For example, New Street is congested but cannot expand. The northern east – west line (NPR) cannot be built or operate until HS2 removes the long distance expresses from Leeds and Piccadilly, both terminally congested.
The solutions to a network problem require expanding that system as a whole, to maximise positive interactions. Resolving New Street will benefit Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh and Aberystwyth !!
If you’ve made it this far … Thankyou