According to a report by the House of Lords Economic Affairs Select Committee, the Government has not made a convincing case for the HS2 high-speed rail project, and cheaper options for easing congestion on the railways should be explored.
The Economics of High Speed 2 says it is important that the Government does so before Parliament gives the go-ahead for the first stage of HS2 construction. It also makes the case that the £50 billion cost is prohibitive and that London will be the main beneficiary.
The 130-page report says that the Government set two main objectives for HS2: increasing capacity on the railway and re-balancing the economy. However, “it has failed to make a convincing case” for either; according to its evidence, long-distance trains to and from London Euston are currently only 50-60% full (on average) at peak times.
“Over-crowding is largely confined to Friday evenings and weekends.” The report goes on to claim that there are “less expensive options to remedy these problems than HS2” that have not been properly considered.
The Select Committee argues that there is a strong case for improving the trans-Pennine links or building the northern legs of HS2 first, “both of which could be a better way of re-balancing the economy” than building the southern leg.
The report says that the cost could be reduced by building it to run at 200mph — like high-speed railways in Europe — instead of 250mph, and it claims that the cost per mile of HS2 is expected to be up to nine-times higher than the cost of constructing high-speed lines in France.
It is expected that the enabling legislation for HS2 Phase 1 will come to the House of Lords in the next Parliament and receive Royal Assent by the end of 2016. Lord Hollick, chairman of the committee, said: “We have set out a number of important questions on HS2 that require detailed answers from the Government. Parliament should not approve the legislation that will allow HS2 work to begin until we have satisfactory answers to these key questions.”
Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of the Tax Payers’ Alliance, said: “This damning report takes apart every one of the arguments for HS2, and tax-payers will demand that politicians listen. There is no capacity case, no business case and no ‘value for money’ case, and this expensive ‘vanity project’ will take scarce resources away from where they are really needed on the rail network.”
However, Adam Marshall, executive director of policy and external affairs at the British Chamber of Commerce, disagreed, saying: “Britain cannot continue to dither on infrastructure, while other countries get on and build.”
The Department for Transport rejected the Lords report and said that the case for HS2 was “crystal clear”. It added: “HS2 will deliver over £2 of benefits for every £1 invested, and the economic benefit of the project was recognised by MPs of all parties, who voted 452 to 41 in favour of HS2 at the second reading of the hybrid bill.”
The first phase of HS2, from London to Birmingham, is due to open in 2026, with a Y-shaped second phase to Manchester and Leeds due for completion around 2032-33, although this may be brought forward. Contracts worth almost £8 billion have so far been put out to tender, and about 900 people are working at HS2 project offices in Birmingham and Canary Wharf.