Opinion : Should HS2 be cancelled?

There has been controversy surrounding HS2 ever since the scheme was first mooted.

Residents of areas in the south affected by the line rose up in outrage at the destruction of the countryside and wildlife not to mention the fact the trains will be speeding past so many towns in the south of the country without stopping.

However those in the north of the country welcome the new railway line as they hope it will bring prosperity to the towns and cities of the north.

Originally expected to cost £56bn we now hear the cost of the line is spiralling out of control and may exceed £100bn, indeed in a national news site is reporting that just cancelling the line without further work taking place could cost £12bn.

Thankfully the HS2 line won’t be coming anywhere near High Wycombe even though the line will cross the our railway line into London in the South Ruislip area.

Now the debate has turned to whether or not the HS2 line should be cancelled.

But what point is there to the line anyway?

For those who live in the south the absence of stations serving major towns on the southern part of the line all but renders the line pointless for them.

While in the north surely the line should be transporting goods from the factories to consumers in the capital and beyond? However according to a leading internet encyclopaedia :

‘The line is only for high speed passenger trains eliminating slow freight and commuter trains.‘

It seems the HS2 line is all about moving people and it will not be handling freight trains, leaving them to uses existing low speed lines. So how will the line benefit manufacturing industry?

If the people in the north need a day trip to London for a jolly then it will be perfect but isn’t that about it?

Would it not have been better to spend the money creating improved, faster local links between the towns of population and manufacturing industry in the north?

Of course if the line is scrapped now there may be contractors will loose out on their expected profits resulting in the creation of a possible lobby ‘for’ the line to competed with the ‘against’ lobby which sprung up when the infernal line was initially announced.

In my opinion the HS2 line is a waste of time, money and effort not to mention the destruction of s much lovely countryside. What’s more the whole scheme, in its current form, won’t help the manufacturers import raw materials or export their products any faster. Indeed my good self feels the whole scheme should be scrapped and the countryside returned to how it was before.

If there are billions of pounds to spend on railways why not reinstate the line from High Wycombe to Marlow? In my opinion the billions would be better spent compulsory purchasing any buildings that may have been built on the old trackbed so a standard gauge railway could link Wycombe to Marlow, Maidenhead and thus giving us access to Crossrail and beyond.

What do you think?

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