Is High Speed 2 on the wrong track?

4 November 2010

The government should abandon plans to make High Speed 2 (HS2) the fastest railway in the world. That is what the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) will tell Philip Hammond, secretary of state for Transport, at a major conference on High Speed Rail this Thursday.

The charity is questioning the reasoning behind government stipulations that the HS2 route should cater for speeds up to 250mph. This is 50mph faster than almost all existing or planned High Speed Lines around the world. Such excessive speeds require much straighter routes which make it harder for new tracks to follow valleys, rail lines or motorways. This means that only routes that largely cut through open countryside are being considered.

Ralph Smyth, senior transport campaigner at CPRE, says: "The plans currently on the table would give the UK the fastest rail line in the world but at huge cost to the tranquillity and beauty of the countryside. It’s as if Ministers have gone out to buy a family car and come back with a Ferrari - it may impress the neighbours but it’s just not practical. The controversy these proposals are generating could derail the government's welcome vision to make rail the long distance travel mode of choice."

CPRE believes there is a good case for increasing rail capacity, which could include carefully planned High Speed Rail. The charity is asking for the public consultation proposed for 2011 to include real choices, including a 186mph route like the Channel Tunnel Rail Link that runs along existing motorways and railways, keeping intrusion into the countryside to a minimum.

Ralph Smyth continues: "The government's own research shows that travelling at 220mph as opposed to 186mph would only save 3.5 minutes from London to Birmingham. We are pleased that the need for more capacity is the driving consideration behind HS2. This should mean that the public should be allowed to have a say on the type of high speed rail not just its route."

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