Mid Cheshire Against HS2
Newsletter
Whatever happened to HS2?
You can be forgiven for thinking that HS2 has been abandoned. There is scant news in the media, usually glossed over on the TV and buried inside newspapers. Why, because all news is bad news for HS2.
MCAHS2 continues to oppose the concept of HS2. We would welcome the opportunity to talk to you and discuss the arguments both for and against High Speed Rail.
We believe, that in the case of HS2, there is:
• NO BUSINESS CASE
• NO ENVIRONMENTAL CASE
• NO MONEY TO PAY FOR IT
Apparently the influential House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee agrees and has published a damming report on HS2. They delivered their verdict after months of taking evidence with extensive contributions from Government, HS2 Ltd, groups supportive of and opposing the high speed rail proposals.
What the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, March 2015, said:
• The Government has yet to make a convincing case for proceeding with the project.
• An investment decision on the scale of HS2 should have been made with reference to a co-ordinated transport plan.
• Overcrowding appears to be caused by commuter traffic not long-distance traffic.
• It is impossible to agree with the Government that HS2 is the only solution to increase
capacity on the rail network.
• HS2 is an expensive project, if a new railway is required, the costs could be reduced.
• Evidence and experience from other countries has suggested that London would be the
biggest beneficiary of a project such as HS2.
• Many taxpayers would derive no benefit from the project.
• The evidence we have heard suggests that investment in regional transport links between cities outside London could be more likely to generate significant growth in the north than
HS2.
• The cost-benefit analysis for HS2 relies on evidence that is out-of-date and unconvincing.
• The analysis presented to justify the project is seriously deficient.
• How much could be achieved if that money were invested differently?
What others have said:
Ed Balls appeared to go off-message when he told a group of journalists there were ‘big questions’ about the second phase of the high-speed line which is due to link Manchester with Birmingham and London by 2032.
Speaking after a new report questioned the economic case for HS2, Mr Balls said: “I think the idea that we wait to do the east-west upgrade until after we have done the second phase of north-south is topsy turvy. It is a plan with no economic or business logic at all”.
Mr Balls added: “I don’t understand this HS3 proposal. Why would you decide to spend 20 years improving north-south before finally, in the third phase, coming to east-west?”
Stop HS2
During the course of polling carried out by ComRes, in March 2015, it was found that only 22% of the public support HS2 at the current £50bn price tag.
DfT and HS2 Ltd.
The Department for Transport and HS2 Ltd. decided not to publish the results of a poll (not conducted by ComRes) concerning the HS2 project, paid for by the taxpayer, before the General Election takes place next week. Both bodies have responded to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act claiming they need more time to decide whether or not publication is in the public interest!
UK Government
A ‘Written Ministerial Statement’ on Monday 23rd March announced an update on the HS2 project so far. It mentioned the publication of “HS2: On Track”, a report setting out what HS2 has achieved since the project started back in 2010.
The report says:
• It has taken time to get the Phase One route right, and no doubt there will be further changes yet to come as we go through the petitioning process. But it is the Government’s role to listen, to reflect, and to make considered and fair decisions that balance the best interests of the country.
• On Phase 2 they have said that they will set out how this phase will be taken forward later in
2015 and the following has been said:
Sir David proposed that we accelerate delivery of the section to Crewe. Crewe already has six existing railway lines radiating outwards from it. Linking HS2 into these could allow high-speed access to towns and cities across the North West.
• It states how the Phase 2 consultation triggered a national conversation about how HS2 can best benefit the North. Sir David then reported on how Phase 2 could be the driver for a Northern Powerhouse of joined up city regions. In response to this, work on HS3 was given the go ahead by Government for a high speed rail link to join up Northern City Regions.
Chris Wilson
Mid Cheshire Against HS2
_________________________________________________________________________
The Telegraph
Alex Rukin will tell MPs that the new rail line will run opposite his mother’s house in Balsall Common in the West Midlands and will disrupt his sleep
A nine-year-old boy is set to become the youngest person ever to appear before Parliament, when he petitions a committee of MPs investigating the case for the HS2 high-speed rail link between London, the Midlands and the North.
Alex Rukin will tell the HS2 Hybrid Bill Committee that the new rail line will run over a viaduct opposite his mother’s house in Balsall Common in the West Midlands and will disrupt his sleep, while construction works threaten to affect roads in the area for many years.
In his petition, Alex tells MPs that he thinks HS2 is a “stupid” idea which will cost more money than its supporters claim, and that people of his age-group will end up having to pay for it through their taxes.
“Your Petitioner has been told that the people who worked out that HS2 would be worth building have said that no-one works on trains – to help cheat on their sums,” he wrote.
“Your Petitioner knows this is cheating because he has seen lots of people working on computers on trains and Your Petitioner’s parents both say that they work on trains. Your Petitioner does not understand why anyone is so stupid as to believe this.
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“Because the people at HS2 Ltd are really, really bad at maths and make things up that aren’t true, Your Petitioner is worried that HS2 will cost lots more than the people are saying.
“If HS2 costs more money and not enough people use it, Your Petitioner, like his classmates, will be the one paying for it in extra tax.
“Your Petitioner thinks it is unfair that he and his friends will have to pay more money forever for something they think isn’t needed and they won’t have enough money to be able to use it.
“Your Petitioner, who started doing video conferencing at school when he was six, wonders if the old people who say we need HS2 have ever even heard of the Internet, Skype or Facetime.
“Even Your Petitioners’ Dad uses them, and when he went to the same school, they only had one computer on a trolley for the whole school.
“Your Petitioner has been told that saying things which are not true is naughty, so does not understand why the HS2 people say things that are not true and get given lots of money.”
Alex’s father, Joe Rukin – the manager of the Stop HS2 Campaign – said: “As far as we can tell Alex will become the youngest person to have ever appeared in an official capacity before Parliament.
“This makes sense to me, as apart from the specific instance of Hybrid Bill committees, I can’t think of any case when someone that young would have the opportunity, apart from maybe Edward VI.
“After I explained what petitioning was, he said he thought everyone in the whole country should be doing it, because he thinks HS2 is such a bad idea, and the wrong thing to spend lots of money on.
“He is committed to doing something about something he thinks is wrong, and I’m really proud about that.”
Express and Star
An effigy of a train has been burnt as campaigners stepped up their fight against HS2 in Staffordshire.
Angry residents in the county have vowed to do all they can to halt the controversial scheme and pledged to continue their campaigning to stop the route cutting through swatches of Staffordshire countryside if it is built.
It comes after transport bosses pledged to press ahead with plans to include a Stafford link in the project which would see trains on the route between London and the north of England to run through the county town.
Sir David has also said he wants to see the line through Staffordshire built six years earlier and be operational by 2027 instead of 2033.
Under the proposals, trains would come off the £50 billion high speed line at Lichfield and join up with the West Coast Mainline, travelling through Stafford and Stoke.
The nine-mile stretch, known as the Handsacre link will help link HS2 to other towns and cities including Macclesfield and Stockport.
Sir David has ordered a review to look at making the link through Stafford a reality.
A second phase of the scheme would also see a link between Fradley and Crewe as part of the Y-shaped phase two route for HS2 which will see the line taken north from Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds, with a completion date of around 2033. That route may be subject to change the Government announced last week though.
Around 40 protesters from the Marston Against HS2 group gathered on a farm directly in the route of the proposed rail line.
A huge bonfire was lit at Sunny Hill Farm in Marston near Stafford which had a 16ft long effigy of a train positioned on top of it with the words: ‘End of the line for HS2 and the bright sparks aboard.’
The effigy also featured photographs of Prime Minister David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Labour leader Ed Miliband.
Bob Gasch, from the campaign group, said: “The turnout was really good. We had about 40 people down on the farm.
“We wanted to make sure people are still aware that the fight against HS2 continues.
“It was also a fundraiser and we managed to collect £160. That will help to fund the campaign locally and nationally with things like court cases.”
The rail line in its second phase is planned to cut through Marston, with several properties set to be bulldozed.
Meanwhile, the company behind HS2 has been accused of using ‘strong arm tactics’ to stop people from raising their objections to the £50 billion project.
Residents who fear their communities will be blighted by the planned 225mph rail line say they were visited at home by groups of HS2 officials and urged not to give evidence to a powerful parliamentary committee which can order major changes to the scheme.
The visits came after they submitted petitions to the HS2 Select Committee, which led them to be targeted by HS2 Ltd – the Government-funded company behind the scheme.
Grandmother Gill Stockdale, aged 66, appeared before the committee and revealed how four officials had tried to strike a deal with her in her living room after she raised objections about construction site lorries travelling outside the primary school attended by her granddaughter.
She claimed she was told that officials wanted to buy her off to prevent her from appearing before the committee.
Mrs Stockdale said that rather than money, a pedestrian crossing near the primary school in the village of Hill Ridware near Rugeley , close to where the first phase of the HS2 line will end had been offered.
She said: “They stated their intention clearly – they just wanted to shut me up.”
HS2 last night denied any wrongdoing in its dealings with objectors.
A spokesman said: “We do not seek in any way to curtail people’s right to appear before the Commons Committee. HS2 Ltd is seeking to resolve people’s concerns before they go to Parliament.”
HS2 will cut through swatches of Staffordshire countryside if it is built.
Sir David Higgins, chairman of HS2, has said he wants to see the line through Staffordshire built six years earlier and be operational by 2027 instead of 2033.
HS2 Action Alliance –
Detail of cuts to existing train services as a result of HS2
West Coast Main Line (WCML)
The service cuts on the WCML will take effect when Phase 1 of HS2 is operating – 2026
| City | Current Service (to/from London) | Service post HS2 | Service Change Summary | HS2 Service |
| Coventry | 3 intercity trains/hour 1 intermediate stop |
2 intercity trains/hour, 2 intermediate stops |
Loss of 1 intercity train/hour and approx 5 min. longer journey time | Nil |
| Birmingham International |
3 intercity trains/hour 2 intermediate stops |
2 intercity trains/hour, 3 intermediate stops |
Loss of 1 intercity trains/hour and approx 5 min. longer journey time | Nil (HS2 will serve Birmingham Interchange) |
| Birmingham New Street |
3 intercity trains/hour, 3 intermediate stops |
2 intercity trains/hour, 4 intermediate stops |
Loss of 1 intercity train/hour and approx 5 min. longer journey time | HS2 service to Curzon Street, 3 trains an hour |
| Lancaster | 1 train/t hour, 3 intermediate stops |
1 train/hour, 8 intermediate stops |
Approx 53 min. longer journey time (only direct train is via Manchester) |
Nil |
| Carlisle | 1 train/ hour, 5 intermediate stops |
1 train/hour, 10 intermediate stops |
Approx 53 min. longer journey time (only direct train is via Manchester) |
Nil |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 2 trains/hour (1 non-stop, 1 with 1 intermediate stop) | 1 train/hour, 1 intermediate stop, |
Loss of hourly non-stop train |
Nil |
| Wilmslow | 1 train/hour, 1 intermediate stop |
No service | No trains at all | Nil |
| Stockport | 3 trains/hour, 2 intermediate stops |
1 train/hour, 3 intermediate stops, |
Loss of 2 trains/ hour and approx 5 min. longer journey time |
Nil |
| Chester/North Wales | 1 train/hour with 2 intermediate stops between Euston and Chester | I train/hour with 7 intermediate stops | Approx. 25 minutes longer journey time | Nil |
Midland Main Line (as from Phase 2 of HS2 i.e. 2033)
|
City/Town |
Current Service |
Service Post HS2 Phase 2 |
Service ChangeSummary |
HS2 Service (Phase 2 only) |
| Leicester | 4 trains/hour (2 non-stop) |
3 trains/hour (1 non-stop) |
Loss of 1 non-stop train/hour | Nil |
| East Midlands Parkway | 2 trains/hour, 2 intermediate stops |
1 train with 3 stops, 1 train with 2 stops | Longer journey times | 2 trains/hour calling at an “East Midlands” (Toton) HS2 station c6 miles further north. |
| Nottingham | 2 trains/hour (1 with 3 stops, 1 with 8 stops) |
1 train an hour with 5 stops | Loss of 1 train/hour. Approx 10 min. longer journey time | No city centre HS2 service. “East Midlands” (Toton) HS2 station c6 miles west of city centre . |
| Derby | 2 trains an hour (1 with 1 stop, 1 with 4 stops) |
2 trains/hour (1 with 4 stops, 1 with 8 stops) |
Approx 15 min. longer journey times | No city centre HS2 service. “East Midlands” (Toton) HS2 station c10 miles E of city centre. |
| Chesterfield | 2 trains/hour (1 with 2 stops, 1 with 5 stops) |
1 train/hour, with 5 stops |
Loss of one train/hour, and approx 15 min. longer journey time | Nil |
| Sheffield | 2 trains/hour (1 with 3 stops, 1 with 6 stops) |
1 train/hour, with 6 stops |
Loss of one train per hour, approx 15 min longer journey times | No city centre HS2 service.“South Yorkshire” HS2 station at Meadowhall c4 miles NE of city centre |
East Coast Main Line (as from Phase 2 of HS2 – 2033)
Frequency has generally been maintained at East Coast stations after HS2 is constructed, but the number of trains/hour from London has been reduced from five to four, and those remaining make more stops to compensate for this, typically extending journey times by five minutes for each stop. The London-Leeds service is reduced from two trains an hour to one. While Leeds has HS2 services, Wakefield, in particular, will have a much worse service.
No services are shown to run North of Edinburgh, not only taking away through trains to London, but breaking long standing non-London flows e.g. Aberdeen – Newcastle.
|
City/Town |
Current Service |
Service Post HS2 Phase 2 |
Service Change Summary |
HS2 Service (Phase 2 only) |
| Peterborough | 3 trains/hour (2 non-stop) |
4 trains/hour, but only 1 non-stop | Loss of 1 non-stop service | Nil |
| Doncaster | 3/4 trains/hour, 2 with only 1 intermediate stop |
3 trains/ hour (1 with 1 stop, others with 4/5 stops) |
Increased journey times by approx 10/15 mins | Nil |
| Wakefield | 2 trains/hour (1 with 2 stops, 1 with 3 stops) |
1 trains/hour, with 5 stops | Loss of one train/hour and approx 10 -15 min. longer journey time | Nil |
| Berwick on Tweed | 1 train/hour with 3 intermediate stops |
1 train/hour with 7 intermediate stops | Approx 20 min. longer journey time | Nil |
| Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness | Through services to Aberdeen (3 daily) and Inverness (1 daily) | No through trains | Nil |
