HS2 UK High Speed Rail 2

There has been a campaign against building HS2 though the Chilterns. This is an area of natural beauty, countryside and trees, scattered with the houses of the upper middle class who know how to make a noise. For some months they seem to have been raising doubts about whether HS2 will ever get the go-ahead. I have long thought that the way to buy them off would be with a tunnel under this range of low hills.

And now it seems the government is also thinking along those lines.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16017413

Can the cost be increased by £500 million? So far government is only discussing the route and the design. I don't see much discussion of the source of money. We are supposed to be in a period of extreme austerity due to paying off the banks.

Business leaders are calling on the next prime minister to commit to delivering HS2 in full.

In an open letter, more than 20 business leaders say continued backing for the next phase of the £56bn high-speed rail network project is vital.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48723772

"The next prime minister" would seem to be Boris Johnson, as nearly as I can tell. Are his views on HS2 known?

sorry ,excon90,missed your question.All I know is he sometimes cycles to work. That may suggest he is supportive of "green transport",or it may mean he likes fresh air and exercise! George would know more.

HS2: High-speed line cost 'could rise by £30bn'. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49048823

"Mr Johnson has also put HS2 in doubt, because he has already begun a review of the project amid predictions that the cost of building of high speed lines between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds could rise by £30 billion to around £87 billion." https://www.railnews.co.uk/news/2019/07 ... prime.html

Love it. Fine-tuned the title a bit for search index.

HS2 to be delayed up to 5 years .
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49563549

https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest ... 1-06-2020/

According to the High Speed Rail Group’s High Speed Rail and Scotland report, which was written by transport think tank Greengauge 21, linking HS2 to Scotland would boost connectivity, cut carbon and rebalance the economy.

These improvements could also be delivered to coincide with the opening of Phase 1 on HS2 – which is to be phased between 2029 and 2035 – to add to the benefits of the work for passengers and post-Covid recovery of the construction sector.

The group claims that a link would cut travel times between London and Scotland to just over three hours and would help the Scottish government meet its target to be carbon net zero by 2045. The report also suggests that such a link would “level up” the north of England during the post-Covid recovery.
...
Data put forward by the report shows that the business case for an Anglo Scottish high speed rail link is much stronger – 7.6:1 – than the current business case for HS2 between London and Birmingham/Manchester which is 2.9:1. The report adds that this strength is due to travel between London and Scotland being the only pre-coronavirus market where short haul flights were prevalent over rail, adding to the green credentials of the proposal. The report described the Anglo-Scottish transport market as representing “low hanging fruit” for carbon reduction.

According to the report, the link could be delivered through a programme of upgrades to existing lines, combined with new dedicated sections of high speed line but delivery would need Transport for the North to be given an oversight role in the scheme to allow it to coordinate with Transport Scotland.
...

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54010727

"Construction work on HS2 officially begins on Friday, with companies behind the controversial high-speed rail project expecting to create 22,000 jobs in the next few years.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said HS2 would "fire up economic growth and help to rebalance opportunity"."

Titled link: HS2 rail project work begins with pledge of 22,000 jobs - BBC News

Phase I will go London - Euston - Crewe (a little south of Manchester and Liverpool), and it should be done 2028-31.

Phase II will go from Crew to Manchester and Wigan, and from Birmingham to East Midlands and Leeds, and it should be done 2035-40.

Construction begins on Britain’s HS2 project | International Railway Journal

The New York Times reports on resistance to this project:

Fair Use:

The construction of the British government’s largest public works project — a high-speed rail line known as HS2 — has long been promoted as helping to save the environment. But it is under growing challenge from those who accuse it of doing the exact opposite.

They have waged a mostly fruitless fight against the project, a grand scheme to cut air and road travel by connecting the north of England to the more prosperous south with trains traveling at up to 225 miles per hour.

Now, with the pandemic prompting a surge in working from home and a slump in train travel, the opponents believe the argument is finally tilting their way, eroding the already shaky rationale for an effort that could cost more than $140 billion.

CBS Radio News reports that a High Speed planned for London (Euston)-Manchester is now being cut back to Birmingham.

That's as far as the report went.

Here's more from the Associated Press reported prior to this noted cutback.

Manchester link "axed": The Guardian

Rishi Sunak announces scaling back of HS2 in Tory conference speech

PM makes expected announcement axing Manchester leg of rail link as he attempts to portray it as positive

Rishi Sunak has formally announced he has cancelled the planned HS2 rail link from Birmingham to Manchester, also unveiling a new post-16 educational qualification in his speech to the Conservative party conference.
...
HS2 had overrun in costs and the plans as they stood no longer made economic sense, Sunak said, adding: “The facts have changed, and the right thing to do when the facts change is to have the courage to change direction.”
...