The new HS2 has been all over the news today, boasting how a new high speed line from London to Manchester, Leeds and other places, will shorten commuting times and bring the north and south much closer.
But is it a good idea? Though the idea of a faster train journey sounds great could the £32bn be spent boosting the ordinary train lines?
After all, the line won't be complete for another twenty years and anything could happen between now and then: the teleporter could have been invented; fossil fuels could have run out and we all have to work from home; the internet might make conventional community unnecessary.
Plus, how risky is the line? Train accidents can be bad enough at 100mph but what about one at 250mph?
Throw in destruction of some areas of the countryside, questionable benefits in a time of recession and whether people need shorter journeys - in the days of smartphones, laptops and tablets commuting time isn't wasted time - and it's an unusual decision.
It's hard to ignore that something needs doing with the railway but anything could change in twenty years time and £32bn could go a long way in improving the current infrastructure and maybe stop our ticket prices having to go up every January.
Monday 28 January 2013
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