High speed rail not affordable, says Labour
The proposed high speed rail link between London and Birmingham is no longer affordable, a senior Labour MP has said.
Maria Eagle, the shadow transport secretary, called the controversial £33 billion project into doubt and said it would be included in a policy review by the Labour leader, Ed Miliband.
The rail link had been a pet project of the Labour government under Gordon Brown, before it was adopted by David Cameron when the Coalition government came to power. (AtW's comment: take a note Maria - when new Govt keeps such large project from the last one when it did not yet start (and thus not expensive to cancel) then it is not a "pet project")
But Ms Eagle said it was possible the massive cost could no longer be justified at a time when other public services were being cut back.
It has emerged that a compensation package for the hundreds of homes affected by the line could run to many millions of pounds.
The Telegraph revealed that home owners who can prove that the value of their property has been affected by the line could be offered payouts.
The package would be in addition to the money offered to those whose homes will have to be demolished and could mean that the compensation scheme could send the total cost of the new railway spiralling.
Ms Eagle said: "Just as the Prime Minister said when he told the defence secretary that Trident couldn't be put in a special box marked untouchable and protected from tough spending decisions, neither can high speed rail."
Hinting that Labour may withdraw support for the project, she said: "As Ed Miliband has said, we rightly start with a blank sheet of paper – that sheet doesn't have a high-speed train line already running through it."
Her comments came as Philip Hammond, the transport secretary, revealed that he was considering increasing the compensation package for those affected by the 250mph line, which would run through the heart of rural England and which has infuriated local people.
The Prime Minister has come under intense pressure in recent weeks from Tory ministers whose constituencies lie on the route, as well as Conservative donors and long time party members who live in the areas affected. (AtW's comment - Cameron should sack any MP that puts his own backyard over interests of the country - they should get elected into council if all they want is to deal with local issues)
In an interview with the Telegraph, Mr Hammond said compensation payments would go far beyond the usual compulsory purchase price.
He has asked officials to look at a "purchase guarantee scheme" in which the government would underwrite the value of property blighted by the line, enabling householders to sell their homes with the guarantee that if the link is built the home's value will be backed by a government promise to buy it at the full market rate.
He admitted the scheme would be "costly" saying: "This is unprecedented. We will introduce a compensation scheme that recognises that, even if your property isn't taken, if it's very close to the route then you may suffer a significant diminution in value and we should compensate it."
Source:
High speed rail not affordable, says Labour - Telegraph
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FFS, that's a totally essential link for a country that is perfect for rail travel - high population density and nicely sized narrow island - no earthquakes unlike Japan!
The proposed high speed rail link between London and Birmingham is no longer affordable, a senior Labour MP has said.
Maria Eagle, the shadow transport secretary, called the controversial £33 billion project into doubt and said it would be included in a policy review by the Labour leader, Ed Miliband.
The rail link had been a pet project of the Labour government under Gordon Brown, before it was adopted by David Cameron when the Coalition government came to power. (AtW's comment: take a note Maria - when new Govt keeps such large project from the last one when it did not yet start (and thus not expensive to cancel) then it is not a "pet project")
But Ms Eagle said it was possible the massive cost could no longer be justified at a time when other public services were being cut back.
It has emerged that a compensation package for the hundreds of homes affected by the line could run to many millions of pounds.
The Telegraph revealed that home owners who can prove that the value of their property has been affected by the line could be offered payouts.
The package would be in addition to the money offered to those whose homes will have to be demolished and could mean that the compensation scheme could send the total cost of the new railway spiralling.
Ms Eagle said: "Just as the Prime Minister said when he told the defence secretary that Trident couldn't be put in a special box marked untouchable and protected from tough spending decisions, neither can high speed rail."
Hinting that Labour may withdraw support for the project, she said: "As Ed Miliband has said, we rightly start with a blank sheet of paper – that sheet doesn't have a high-speed train line already running through it."
Her comments came as Philip Hammond, the transport secretary, revealed that he was considering increasing the compensation package for those affected by the 250mph line, which would run through the heart of rural England and which has infuriated local people.
The Prime Minister has come under intense pressure in recent weeks from Tory ministers whose constituencies lie on the route, as well as Conservative donors and long time party members who live in the areas affected. (AtW's comment - Cameron should sack any MP that puts his own backyard over interests of the country - they should get elected into council if all they want is to deal with local issues)
In an interview with the Telegraph, Mr Hammond said compensation payments would go far beyond the usual compulsory purchase price.
He has asked officials to look at a "purchase guarantee scheme" in which the government would underwrite the value of property blighted by the line, enabling householders to sell their homes with the guarantee that if the link is built the home's value will be backed by a government promise to buy it at the full market rate.
He admitted the scheme would be "costly" saying: "This is unprecedented. We will introduce a compensation scheme that recognises that, even if your property isn't taken, if it's very close to the route then you may suffer a significant diminution in value and we should compensate it."
Source:
High speed rail not affordable, says Labour - Telegraph
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FFS, that's a totally essential link for a country that is perfect for rail travel - high population density and nicely sized narrow island - no earthquakes unlike Japan!
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