I am firmly against HS2, this is taken from my own website:
| West Midlands
MEP Nikki Sinclaire is backing local residents’ objections to HS2 and is calling
for the Coalition Government to review the alternative options for improving
capacity and journey times between Birmingham and London as the next phase of
investment in upgrading the National Rail Network. The £17 billion B’ham to
London High Speed 2 Rail Link is simply not financially viable and proposed
revised changes would simply increase the costs of travel. Nikki said ‘’The Government must stop wasting taxpayers’ money on a vanity project as the new route destroys homes and villages. It would cut a motorway wide swathe through our countryside to Birmingham International where a huge new car park would be required’’.  What could we do instead of HS2? • Completely electrify the rail network • Upgrade every line including the appalling Cross- Country services, benefitting every part of the country • Reinstate the Building Schools for the Future programme • Put planes on our aircraft carrier • Keep two aircraft carriers! • Reinstate cuts to our police forces and police officers • Build 60,000 affordable homes every year • Stop university fees increase Every one of these would generate employment in every part of Britain. Common sense? | 
"Upgrading the existing Euston to Birmingham
International Rail Line would reduce travel times to 50 minutes and allow
alternate stopping and flexible local services to be integrated into a faster
service that also meets the commuting needs of the intermediate communities
while still catering for rail freight."
What isn’t mentioned much is the real concern that HS2 would lead to economic decline in intervening towns and cities including Coventry and Northampton. So in fact the project would almost certainly end up as a vacuum, sucking investment away from the West Midlands. |
