As the Government gives the go-ahead for the controversial HS2 high-speed rail scheme, Stuart Arnold examines the arguments for and against the proposals.

FOR

Economic benefits
OVER a 60-year period, HS2 Limited, the company behind the scheme, claims that a national high-speed rail network would generate benefits of up to £47bn to £59bn. There will be spin-offs for industry too. Hitachi, which is planning to open a train assembly factory near Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, next year, is bidding to design and maintain the new fleet of high-speed trains, which could mean hundreds of new jobs.

Faster journey times
Trains travelling at up to 250mph will cut a journey from Birmingham to Leeds from two hours to 57mins, and a Manchester to London journey from 2hrs 8mins to 1hr 8mins. There will also be journey time savings to towns and cities off the new network since they will be served by high-speed trains able to use both HS2 and existing intercity lines – however, these will be less substantial. For instance, a London to Newcastle journey could be cut from 3hrs 9mins to 2hrs 37mins.

Less congestion
The Government says an extra 26,000 seats will be available each hour, reducing congestion on the East and West Coast mainlines, particularly around major cities. It will also relieve congestion on road and air routes, taking an estimated nine million journeys off the road network and 4.5 million air journeys each year.

Political support
HS2 has garnered broad support across the political spectrum. It is being brought forward by the Tories, having been originally drawn up by former Labour cabinet minister Lord Adonis. The Liberal Democrats have also backed the plans, and say it will bring huge benefits to the country as a whole.

Improved connections for businesses
Some of the UK’s highest profile businessmen have backed the case for high-speed rail, including British Airways supremo Willie Walsh. Meanwhile, John Longworth, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, says the plans will be welcomed by businesses up and down the country and that Britain cannot continue to “make and mend” when it comes to sub-standard infrastructure.

AGAINST

Cost
ACCORDING to the Taxpayers’ Alliance, the project is a “railway for the rich, but paid for by everyone”. It says it will cost every family household more than £1,000. It also says the final bill of the project could rise to £45.5bn as a result of a number of hidden costs and that the business case for it will mean fares rising by 27 per cent above inflation. Opponents argue that in these austere financial times, high-speed rail is just far too expensive.

Environmental impact
The Government is attempting to make a number of concessions to environmental campaigners by introducing noise reduction measures and longer tunnels in rural areas, but there remains huge opposition from green groups as well as those living along the proposed route from London to Birmingham. Critics claim the scheme will damage some of the most picturesque countryside in Britain, including the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Government has attempted to mitigate this with tunnelling measures, which it says will mean only two miles of route in this area will be above the ground.

Impact on house prices
This will be a big concern for many. The Government says that, out of 55,000 responses to a consultation on the plans, more than 65 per cent mentioned property. Estimates suggest some homeowners living near the route could see ten to 15 per cent wiped off the value of their land.

Delays with the scheme
 It could be two years before MPs get a chance to vote on a high-speed line, meaning plenty of time to raise further opposition to scupper it. Under the timetable the construction of a 140- mile line between London and Birmingham will not be completed until 2026 at the earliest. The second phase, which will see lines built from Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester, is not due to be completed until 2033. Tony Walker, a regional spokesman for the campaign group Rail Future North-East, says there must be a faster timetable for construction so that the benefits of high speed “can be reaped much sooner”.

Limited impact for some regions such as the North-East
Under the proposals, the HS2 network will go no further north than Leeds. So while travellers to the region will still benefit from faster journey times overall, there will be no new infrastructure built in terms of tracks or stations. When he reviewed the evidence for the local and regional impacts of high-speed rail, Professor John Tomaney, of Newcastle University, who gave evidence last year to a House of Commons transport select committee inquiry, claimed they were “ambiguous at best and negative at worst”.