The Government's proposed high speed rail line will not deliver the capacity needed. The project is expected to cost over £30 billion (more than £1,000 per family) and has been justified on the basis that it will mean more seats on more trains, yet many towns along and around the route will in fact lose out.
Click here to read the full report
Click here to view the press release
This report reveals for the first time a comprehensive list of which towns will be worse off and gives details of how each place could be negatively hit by worse journey times, fewer seats and/or fewer trains per day.
Matthew Sinclair, Director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:
“High speed rail isn’t the right way of getting the capacity we need. The project is set to cost taxpayers a fortune and it is increasingly clear it will be a huge white elephant. While politicians are holding out the promise of a faster journey for a fortunate few, huge numbers of people will face slower and less frequent services with more overcrowding. Everyone will still have to pay the hefty bill. The Government are passing over an affordable opportunity to increase capacity quickly in favour of a flashy new train set that won’t be delivered for the best part of two decades. They should cancel HS2 and get their priorities straight.”
It is important that our MPs know how foolish this project is.
There is a debate in Westminster Hall tomorrow and it is vital as many MPs as possible are there. Please write to your MP to urge them to oppose HS2, and read our previous analysis here.