A CAMPAIGN group’s call to scrap the HS2 high speed rail project has provoked a furious backlash from the Yorkshire business community.
The Taxpayers’ Alliance has today published a new report warning that the cost of HS2 is soaring and claiming it will not deliver the economic benefits to the North that have been promised.
The first phase of HS2 will connect London and Birmingham with the second phase seeing eastern and western ‘legs’ going north to Manchester and Yorkshire.
Proposed changes to HS2 rail’s West Yorkshire route put to public
The developers of the HS2 high speed rail link are holding a drop-in session in a West Yorkshire village over a proposed change of route.
The company is planning to change the line in South Yorkshire to run next to the M18 motorway and to include a stop in Sheffield city centre.
As a result the line would enter West Yorkshire further east, closer to Wakefield.
A meeting is being held by HS2 Ltd in Hemsworth for newly affected residents.
In his report outlining the change, David Higgins, chairman, of HS2 Ltd, said the new route would cut journey times as well as reducing costs by £1bn.
“I also recognise that this proposal will create fresh uncertainty for some residents along the M18/Eastern route,” he said.
“I apologise for that and will do all I can to ensure that their questions and concerns are addressed as quickly as possible.”
Read on… http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-36915917
Tom Richmond: Time £750,000 high-speed rail chief faces the public
IF HS2 chief executive Simon Kirby is worth £750,000 a year, it is time that Britain’s highest paid civil servant started earning his salary.
It means getting out of his London bunker, meeting more people directly affected by the construction of the high-speed rail network and answering direct questions about the UK’s largest infrastructure project.
Long before Ministers, I recognised that Britain required a major new railway to connect core cities, with this dedicated line allowing more provincial services to operate on regional routes.
Rotherham Politics 
I totally agree it should be scrapped, there are better ways of spending this money, to improve the existing rail network. We need also to look at re balancing the economy, away from banking and the service sector.
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we should spend the money on London’s Garden bridge instead
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When No one wants this White Elephant why force feed it to us?
OK Sheffield council vainly wants it delivered to the centre of their empire, without a care for the rest of South Yorkshire who have to try to get through the often grid locked city centre – their attitude is like London’s – yeah but it’s looking great!
We will take the money instead. Save the houses, Save the countryside,
Save the embarrassment!
Spend OUR Taxes and Business rates on the Electrification of Leeds/Sheffield to London.
Two hours is fine and is faster than you can fly!
Talking of high risks, in China their HSR rarely travels at anywhere near top speed, preferring to reach the vanity speed, then go back to a safer level, since one train derailed and travelled sideways into a river and another ploughed into a stationary train because of signalling.
One recent crash in Germany was the result of a hairline crack in one wheel..
who really needs this?
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a victorian invention, money would be better spent on R&D for the next big transport thinh thing – that we we could invent it, build it, and sell it on but that would mean possibly making money from something and we don’t want that.
Failing that light aircraft and jetpacks for the entire populace – the costs would be similar.
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Well look on the bright side Euro tunnel will look like small change, and did somebody from Euro Disney fail it from failing.
HS2 the mother of all white elephant’s for a new generation, they’ll need to create literally Mickey Mouse to pull this one off.
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Notable how it’s Shambers of Commerce crews that are the only ones supporting HSnumber2 – Leeds, Sheffield and the dozy twonks at Rotherham
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“Notable how it’s Shambers of Commerce crews that are the only ones supporting HSnumber2”
Because they don’t live in Mexborough old son.
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Tax Payers Alliance would rob their granny to force through a bullying, big, brash, bold and bussines venture and why not?
HS2 are not making friends and I’ve had a chat with them man to man….left it in their court and here we are. We’ve got folk not being listening to, some guy being assaulted, masses of folk turning out to say NO.
I hope folk reconsider their view on TPA and check on their granny to!
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Paddy it seems you’ve got the wrong end of the stick – the TPA are calling HS2 a vanity project and saying it won’t benefit the North:
“But the Taxpayers’ Alliance described HS2 as an “expensive vanity project” and claimed London would receive more benefits than any other area.
Chief executive Jonathan Isaby said: “The new Prime Minister should now be pursuing bold and imaginative policies to boost economic growth and increase productivity – and that positive approach must include scrapping HS2, which has cost taxpayers far too much already.”
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