Government rail investment
The Government has announced a £33billion investment in a new UK high-speed rail network. But is this the right priority? We want your opinion!
High Speed rail (HS2), the proposed new express rail system for the UK, received the green light from the Government yesterday, committing £33billion of your money to the scheme.
Motorists are already used to subsidising Government spending - just £10bn was spent on roads in the UK during 2010/11, but motorists gave the Exchequer £32bn in fuel and road taxes.
HS2 will be up and running from London to the outskirts of Birmingham by 2026, and plans are in place to continue the line further north.
The 225mph trains will cut journey times in half, with London-Birmingham taking 49 minutes. The Government claims HS2 will take nine million journeys off the roads and onto the rails each year, too.
The Government's case for HS2 presumes demand for rail journeys will keep rising, but with the first HS2 service not due for 15 years, will we be working in the same ways as we do now?
Is this enough to tempt you out of your car and onto the HS2? We’d like to know your opinion in the comments below.
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