Britain’s existing rail services should be given priority over HS2
SIR – Jeremy Warner (Business, August 12) thinks that money should be spent on telecoms instead of on HS2.
I quite agree, but wouldn’t it also be a good idea to get the existing train lines running better before we try to transport yet more people into London? Commuters have been struggling across the country, particularly since the mass changes to the timetable. Here in Harpenden, we’ve seen a 35 per cent reduction in weekday rush-hour trains without consultation, and three new timetables since May, none of which has worked.
We need to get back on track before embarking on any more vanity projects. Simon Foster
Harpenden, Hertfordshire
SIR – The Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review, announced as part of the Government’s modern industrial strategy, proposes to give most of the population access to 5G and provide full fibre broadband coverage to almost everyone by 2033.
This means that the Government is actually working hard to introduce a technology that will make HS2 redundant within almost exactly the same timeframe that the railway is due for completion. Anthony Hulbert
Christchurch, Dorset
SIR – The real tragedy about HS2 is not so much that the Government chose the wrong project, but that it is missing the opportunity to do what is right for it.
One of HS2’s stated objectives has always been to regenerate communities along its route. However, it will be hard to do so without knitting the railway and its stations together with local housing, jobs and vital “last mile” transport infrastructure – buses, cycle and walking routes, taxis and local trains. Plans for this are currently few and far between.
It is not too late. With real, proactive and strategic town planning that sees communities, transport, facilities and local economies integrated with the new stations, HS2 could still be transformational. It is worth the extra investment that Sir John Armitt recently called for (Comment, August 5). Victoria Hills Chief Executive Royal Town Planning Institute London EC3 SIR – Critics of HS2 need to look beyond our island’s shores.
On July 2 last year yet another brand-new French high-speed line, LGV (Ligne Grande Vittesse), opened between Paris and Bordeaux, covering 360 miles. It brings the journey down to two hours and four minutes, thus saving over an hour. It is already a great success with passengers. A short while ago, another LGV opened between Paris and Rennes.
The trouble with the English mentality is that it suffers from a “can’t do” attitude towards any attempt to improve our infrastructure. Simon Bathurst Brown
Camberley, Surrey