This ill-conceived waste of £100bn went off the rails a long time ago

Grant Shapps’ first major announcement as Transport Secretary – a review on whether HS2 should go ahead – is excellent news for British taxpayers.

I, alongside other colleagues in

Parliament, have long argued HS2 is a colossal waste of money. In 2010 we were told it would cost £33billion and that quickly ballooned to £56billion. With recent comments from the HS2 chairman that costs could reach over £100billion, this review could not have come soon enough.

Given the Government’s most generous estimates predict only £92billion worth of benefits, it is obvious the project is simply not worth the cost.

In May, I launched a report with the Taxpayers’ Alliance which looked at 28 possible alternatives to HS2 that can be delivered much cheaper and much faster. They included upgrading and electrifying regional rail lines, improving key roadways and building new cycle paths around the country.

Value for money is not the only problem with HS2. The Government has changed the rationale for the project multiple times.

In 2010 the main justification was speed. They were so obsessed with getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible that the line neglects small towns vitally in need of an infrastructure boost.

Regardless of this, by the time HS2 is complete it will be old technology. Japan is building the world’s fastest train reaching upwards of 250mph.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk and Richard Branson are competing to build the world’s first hyperloop reaching over 700mph. Compared with this, HS2 will look like a horse and cart in a world of Ferraris.

Once the speed argument was discredited, the Government’s rationale shifted to focusing on capacity and congestion. We have all been on a busy train and struggled to find a seat. But HS2 is not the answer. The most congested line in the country is the route from Glasgow to Manchester Airport which is at 211 per cent capacity at peak times.

The second most congested route is on the Oxted line from East Grinstead to London Bridge at 191 per cent capacity. HS2 will do nothing for frustrated passengers on these lines.

We are also told that HS2 will be the silver bullet to rebalance the North and South. But the Government’s own analysis shows that 40 per cent of the benefits will go to London.

HS2 is a singularly unpopular policy across the UK and apart from being the right thing to do, cancelling this scheme would be a vote winner in any potential general election campaign.