MP slams HS2 as “white elephant”

Last month the Secretary of State for Transport announced a review into High Speed 2, pending a wider decision later this year on whether the proposed railway will go ahead in its present form, or possibly be scrapped altogether. The review is expected to report later this year.

John Baron MP commented:

“Having voted against HS2 multiple times, I have long believed it is the most expensive white elephant in British history.”

“Cutting 20 minutes off a journey from London to Birmingham was never a compelling reason for spending tens of billions on a railway. Moreover, advances in telecommunications mean that working is increasingly possible on trains, rendering any time savings irrelevant.”

“Billions have already been sunk into the project, and projected costs have spiralled far beyond original projections – and will continue to do so. These funds could have been much better spent on other priorities, with education and defence obvious examples. The review needs to cancel the project.”

Image: UK Parliament
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
No changes have been made to the image.