A report by the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee has found that there is no convincing case for HS2 and its £50 billion price tag. HS2 is predicted to cost 9 times as much as the French equivalent high speed rail line.
“The Government have not carried out a proper assessment of whether alternative ways of increasing capacity are more cost-effective than HS2” said Lord Hollick, chairman of the Lords’ committee. “London is likely to be the main beneficiary from HS2”.
MPs have also said that the government lacks a “clear strategic plan for the rail network”. Margaret Hodge stated that the Department for Transport “has a long way to go to prove that it is being more effective in realising benefits from major programmes.”
When considered alongside last month’s report by the Commons Public Accounts Committee and the MPA’s 2011 report which is yet to be made public, it is clear that there are serious flaws with the proposed plan.
How many reports need to be written before HS2 is scrapped?