THAT INCREASINGLY EXPENSIVE HS2

                                               THAT INCREASINGLY EXPENSIVE HS2

It was interesting to note that a committee of MPs  has concluded that spiralling costs do not appear in proportion to the alleged benefits bandied about by those arrogant bastards who wish to destroy even more of our once green and pleasant land. Governments from both sides of the house have a long and distinguished history of under-estimating costs of projects, both civil and military.  To be fair, it is never their money, merely that taken from the poor sod who works to keep them and their ilk in a manner to which we will never be accustomed.  Not for them a once timeless view about to be destroyed forever.  We have lacked collective government foresight for the last 60+ years.

With regards to the railways this is no better exemplified than in case of the HS2 route.  The Great Central Railway (the remains of which still run out of Marylebone Station) was built to the continental loading gauge and afforded a direct link to Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Grimsby and Hull.  En-route the line served Rugby, Leicester, Nottingham, Bradford, Doncaster and Lincoln.  The short-sightedness of the infamous Dr. Beeching's recommendations  sounded the death knell for the GCR, finally succumbing in 1966.

And so it has come to pass that we taxpayers are now being asked to stump up an unknown sum of money in order to build a railway line which will initially take one to Birmingham, some 30 odd minutes quicker than is currently achievable.  In all honesty, who would want to hear  that awful Brummie accent  30 minutes earlier than you have to!