Sunday 1 October 2023

No 277: HS2 Even Shorter?

 MORE controversy over HS2 - the high speed rail link being built from London to Manchester. It is projected to cost at least £50billion, about £20 billion more than planned, and to to not be ready until 2035 - 5 years later than planned. (See https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/24/how-much-has-been-spent-on-hs2-so-far-and-what-is-at-stake).

The central London link section has already been scrapped. Now the government is considering cancelling the section from Birmingham to Manchester, citing the high costs, the poor state of government finances, and the need to invest the money in other projects and/or tax cuts.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/23/rishi-sunak-pushes-to-axe-northern-hs2-rail-line-ahead-of-tory-conference

Question for you: What would be the economic impacts of not building HS2 from Birmingham to Manchester? Would the benefits outweigh the costs?


No comments:

Post a Comment