Tory plans to curtail HS2 in the North are a betrayal of Red Wall voters

sir – Kevin Hollinrake, Conservative MP for Malton and Thirsk, was quite right when earlier this year he compared levelling up the North East and South East with the task of reunifying East and West Germany, and said that it would take decades of investment.

The decision to scrap the eastern leg of HS2 and downgrade the Northern Powerhouse Rail plans (report, November 18) throws the trust given to the Conservatives when they won the Red Wall seats into the bin, and shows that the old ideas about developments north of Watford are flourishing in this Government.

It is a real kick in the teeth for millions, who will feel badly let down. Hope is draining away in the North and anger against the Tories is rising. Keith Punshon

Dalton, North Yorkshire

sir – It is unbelievable that it should take more than 20 years to build one railway line – and at such immense cost to the taxpayer. It is worth contrasting HS2 with the work of the Victorian engineers, who in the 1840s and 1850s constructed most of Britain’s rail network from scratch using private money. They used cutting-edge technology and faced just as much opposition, not least from landowners, some of whom refused access altogether.

The Great Western Railway, designed and built in only six years by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, called for a technologically advanced bridge over the Thames at Maidenhead (which is still in use today), tunnels, cuttings and embankments by the score. His investors made a profit and provided a public service. Profit is now a dirty word, which is why HS2 has been funded by taxpayers’ money, even though many will never use it.

The net effect will be to increase commuter traffic from the North to the South, not the other way round. That is what happened in the past and the new line, if built, will be no different. Nicholas Wightwick

Rossett, Denbighshire sir – I would be interested to know how many of the billions invested in HS2 have been spent on construction and materials, and how many on the modern essentials of protected species surveys, environmental impact assessments and archaeological digs. Certainly, our Victorian ancestors would think we had lost the plot.

The costs of delivering major infrastructure projects in the United Kingdom are almost prohibitive, with sackfuls of money going to highly remunerated consultants before a single length of track is laid.

Philip Collison

Terrington Saint Clement, Norfolk

sir – If rail fares were made affordable for everybody, car ownership would drop massively, which would greatly assist Britain in meeting its emissions targets. I’d ditch my car in a heartbeat.

Having virtually empty trains crisscrossing the country makes no economic sense at all.

Don Edwards Lawford, Essex