By John Caine

This major infrastructure proposal now appears to have the backing of the Commons Transport Committee but it may be cynical to say it is easy for them to support the idea without committing much money to the project which is at a conceptual stage.

The HS2 project received some bad press relative to a paper presented by the HS2 team at an international conference where a number of high speed rail projects were showcased and the HS2 scheme was ridiculed for the proposed programme and cost when compared with similar and larger schemes elsewhere in the world. Such bad press reflects badly on our construction industry and UK plc.

So why is the programme and cost out of line with international bench marking for similar projects?

Let’s start with the programme which sees the project extending into 2030 for the further legs north of Birmingham. The Planning process will be the key reason that the programme is so long. The public consultation that is likely to occur and the time this will take and its associated cost is unlikely to be comparable with any other similar scheme in the world. Only in the UK can we take 10 years to approve such schemes although this should be improved, based on changes to the Planning Legislation for major infrastructure projects. The compromises that are likely to occur to re-route the scheme and to put many miles of HS2 into tunnels will help create the high cost being projected which if experience is a guide will only increase rather than decrease.

At present many people will question the value for money that the project offers. A £32bn price tag in order to save 40 minutes of a two hour journey from London to Birmingham. Is that time saving worth such a lot of money?

£32 billion would pay for 2,000 - 4,000 secondary school buildings which would have an economic, as well as social benefit to the UK just as the HS2 project does.

The sponsors of the project must work harder to promote the benefits of the project to get public support as without this support and maybe in the face of much opposition in my opinion the project is likely to suffer many delays. After all, it took thirty-three years for the first stretch of motorway to be developed following initial proposals in 1923.