The Government has given the go-ahead for the £32 billion HS2 high speed rail network that will reduce journey times between major cities.
The initial phase of the scheme is set to link London and Birmingham, at a cost of £17 billion. There were concerns of damaging an area of outstanding natural beauty between the cities, but Transport Secretary Justine Greening announced today that sections will be tunnelled.
Last minute adjustments may have been made to the proposed route following fierce proposition from the Conservative-voting constituencies in the Chiltern Hills. Construction of a tunnel below the area of outstanding natural beauty has been confirmed, to mitigate feared noise pollution and landscape destruction.
The first phase of the network will see a high speed line built from London to Birmingham by 2026, to carry passengers at 225 mph cutting the journey time to 49 minutes. A second phase will extend the line to Manchester and Leeds and would be completed by 2032. Eventually, the line will extend to Edinburgh, which will cut journey times from London to the Scottish capital by around an hour to 3.5 hours. The total cost will be in the region of £32 billion.
The scheme has been particularly controversial – whilst some say that it will improve business links, create jobs and be a more efficient alternative to the current, aging train system, others feel that £17,000 billion for phase one alone is extortionate in the current economic climate, and that the environmental damage during its development will outweigh any potential environmental benefits.
Upgrades will have to be made to our existing rail system before too long, and many believe that by beginning to build the HS2 now will benefit our national transport system. £4 billion was spent on our rail system last year alone, demonstrating the cost of up keeping an aging network. Likely to reduce road congestion between cities and the volume of internal flights, there will eventually be environmental benefits. Being powered by electricity, progression in renewable energy will enable CO2 from rail transport to be reduced over time.
The Guardian, Press Association, BBC
