A consultation carried out in November 2011 for the Department for Transport and HS2 Ltd revealed that a clear majority of people think that the High Speed 2 train line should not go ahead.
More recently, a 2013 YouGov poll revealed that a 55% majority still oppose the project, stating that the Department for Transport had “not yet presented a convincing case”
Here is a summary of the responses to the DfT’s High speed rail consultation report from 2011:
| Question | Agree | Disagree | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Do you agree that there is a strong case for enhancing the capacity and performance of Britain’s inter-city rail network to support economic growth over the coming decades? | 21,630 | 23,462 |
| 2 | Do you agree that a national high speed rail network from London to Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester (the Y network) would provide the best value for money solution (best balance of costs and benefits) for enhancing rail capacity and performance? | 15,257 | 31,789 |
| 3 | Do you agree with the Government’s proposals for the phased roll-out of a national high speed rail network, and for links to Heathrow Airport and the High Speed 1 line to the Channel Tunnel? | 2,215 | 26,197 |
| 4 | Do you agree with the principles and specification used by HS2 Ltd to underpin its proposals for new high speed rail lines and the route selection process HS2 Ltd undertook? | 2,584 | 28,455 |
| 5 | Do you agree that the Government’s proposed route, including the approach proposed for mitigating its impacts, is the best option for a new high speed rail line between London and the West Midlands? | 2,187 | 28,163 |
| 6* | Do you wish to comment on the Appraisal of Sustainability of the Government’s proposed route between London and the West Midlands that has been published to inform this consultation? | 614 think AoS is adequate |
14,170 think AoS is flawed/inadequate |
| 7 | Do you agree with the options set out to assist those whose properties lose a significant amount of value as a result of any new high speed line? | 2,667 | 16,027 |
* Answers to Q6 required respondents to express their opinions and fell into two categories:
- AoS is inadequate/flawed/requires more information
- AoS is adequate/sufficient