Time to revisit HS2?

[BrilloPad]

BBC News - HS1 Channel link leaves £4.8bn debt, says MPs

There are those who say the taxpayer should not be left picking up the tab. And those who think the government need to fund big infrastructire projects to keep us globally competitive. Particularly when the economy is a bit slack.

Who is right?

[BlasterBates]

Couldn't they just simply have used the Mallard, which is currently sitting around York railway museum gathering dust?

[BoredBloke]

BBC News - HS1 Channel link leaves £4.8bn debt, says MPs

There are those who say the taxpayer should not be left picking up the tab. And those who think the government need to fund big infrastructire projects to keep us globally competitive. Particularly when the economy is a bit slack.

Who is right?

For the article

"Committee chairwoman, Labour MP Margaret Hodge, said: "There was real over-optimism on the number of passengers they thought they were going to get. "

Interesting use of the word they, given the forrecast was made in 1997. I would say Margret hodge should replace the word they with we

[Paddy]

It is exactly what the government should be doing, investing in infrastructure.

So far the war in Iraq and Afghanistan has cost one trillion pounds and there is nothing to show for it other than dead bodies. If that sort of month was invested in roads, railways and water the UK would be in a much better position.

[Mich the Tester]

Couldn't they just simply have used the Mallard, which is currently sitting around York railway museum gathering dust?

I wish the Dutch railways would use that for their intercity trains; it's a hell of a lot quicker than these bloody 130 kmh electric overblown trams they use now.

And that's my biggest problem with using the channel tunnel; to get to Brussels I have to travel 6 hours on tulipty, backward useless trains because the cretins who have run Dutch railways for the last 20 years don't have a f*&%ing clue what the word 'investment' means and haven't noticed that when they go on holiday to anywhere more advanced than f&*^ing Chechnya even the local chug-chug trains are faster than Dutch intercity trains.

[AtW]

Yes time to revisit HS2 - it should provide direct connection to mainland europe - had to change 3 trains to get to Amsterdam ffs!

[Robinho]

Complete and utter waste of taxpayers money.

[VectraMan]

This has been all over the headlines, but is there really a connection between less people wanting to travel from London to Brussels than expected, and the number of people wanting to travel between UK cities? It seems to me the two are entirely unconnected.

[administrator]

Living about 500m from the proposed HS2 line I would like to say you are obviously wrong. The rich people in these parts have paid for this lobbying and they are quite clearly right in their prediction that only 5 people per year would bother using the service. Therefore the plan is flawed and must not go ahead and spoil the view from the bottom of my garden. Case closed. Next!

[doodab]

I think it's a "jolly good idea". Although I've no desire to go to Birmingham myself I'm sure there are lots of people who will visit at least once.