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| Coalition makes case for high speed rail line | Coalition makes case for high speed rail line |
| (7 days later) | |
| The coalition has shifted gear as it tries to persuade a sceptical public to embrace its multibillion-pound plans for the HS2 rail line, saying it will be worth £15bn to the economy. | The coalition has shifted gear as it tries to persuade a sceptical public to embrace its multibillion-pound plans for the HS2 rail line, saying it will be worth £15bn to the economy. |
| The transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, presented the findings of the accountants KPMG as he reasserted the case for the new rail line, insisting that not to support the line would represent a national loss of nerve. | The transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, presented the findings of the accountants KPMG as he reasserted the case for the new rail line, insisting that not to support the line would represent a national loss of nerve. |
| The report says regions outside London will be the biggest beneficiaries of the new service, but concedes the rail line will not produce an economic boost until 2037. | The report says regions outside London will be the biggest beneficiaries of the new service, but concedes the rail line will not produce an economic boost until 2037. |
| The government took a pounding this week when the Commons public accounts committee strongly criticised HS2 for its "fragile numbers, out-of-date data and assumptions which do not reflect real life". | The government took a pounding this week when the Commons public accounts committee strongly criticised HS2 for its "fragile numbers, out-of-date data and assumptions which do not reflect real life". |
| McLoughlin said the advantages included not simply faster journey times and new jobs, but up to 500,000 fewer lorry journeys a day on the country's roads. | McLoughlin said the advantages included not simply faster journey times and new jobs, but up to 500,000 fewer lorry journeys a day on the country's roads. |
| "High Speed Two will make Liverpool stronger, Manchester stronger, Leeds stronger, Britain stronger," he said. "A £15bn annual boost to the economy, with the north and Midlands gaining at least double the benefit of the south." | "High Speed Two will make Liverpool stronger, Manchester stronger, Leeds stronger, Britain stronger," he said. "A £15bn annual boost to the economy, with the north and Midlands gaining at least double the benefit of the south." |
| Dismissing "scare stories" over the budget, he maintained that it would remain £42.6bn, with a contingency fund of £14.4bn. | Dismissing "scare stories" over the budget, he maintained that it would remain £42.6bn, with a contingency fund of £14.4bn. |
| Drawing on the history of big infrastructure projects in the UK, McLoughlin said: "Big decisions about big infrastructure are always controversial. People have always argued about the unknowns that big infrastructure proposals must always involve. But controversy needn't be a sign you are getting things wrong. Often it is a sign that you are doing something that really matters." | Drawing on the history of big infrastructure projects in the UK, McLoughlin said: "Big decisions about big infrastructure are always controversial. People have always argued about the unknowns that big infrastructure proposals must always involve. But controversy needn't be a sign you are getting things wrong. Often it is a sign that you are doing something that really matters." |
| He added: "The point about High Speed Two is that you won't have to travel on it to gain from the better transport system and economic growth it will support. People who may never use the new line will still gain from more services for towns and cities up and down Britain, more room for local trains, more space for direct services to London from places that can't get them today, more space for freight trains – to free up our motorways." | He added: "The point about High Speed Two is that you won't have to travel on it to gain from the better transport system and economic growth it will support. People who may never use the new line will still gain from more services for towns and cities up and down Britain, more room for local trains, more space for direct services to London from places that can't get them today, more space for freight trains – to free up our motorways." |
| He went on: "Without the capacity provided by HS2 the main road and rail lines linking eight of our 10 largest cities will quite simply be overwhelmed. And by the way to those who won't accept this we really do deserve better than anecdotes about spare room at off-peak hours." | He went on: "Without the capacity provided by HS2 the main road and rail lines linking eight of our 10 largest cities will quite simply be overwhelmed. And by the way to those who won't accept this we really do deserve better than anecdotes about spare room at off-peak hours." |
| The report's author Richard Threlfall, KPMG's head of infrastructure, said: "What I hope this work will do is put some new evidence into the debate, because what we've seen over the last few months is an awful lot of opinions and to be honest not a lot of evidence on the ground as to what effect this will have. | The report's author Richard Threlfall, KPMG's head of infrastructure, said: "What I hope this work will do is put some new evidence into the debate, because what we've seen over the last few months is an awful lot of opinions and to be honest not a lot of evidence on the ground as to what effect this will have. |
| "And what our report shows, beyond any reasonable doubt, is that HS2 will deliver massive benefits to the UK economy." | "And what our report shows, beyond any reasonable doubt, is that HS2 will deliver massive benefits to the UK economy." |
| However, the neutrality of the report has been questioned, as it was commissioned by the company that plans to build HS2. | However, the neutrality of the report has been questioned, as it was commissioned by the company that plans to build HS2. |
| The shadow transport secretary, Maria Eagle, said the new north-south line was essential. She endorsed the KPMG report, adding: "I have been saying for some time that the government needs to get its act together." | The shadow transport secretary, Maria Eagle, said the new north-south line was essential. She endorsed the KPMG report, adding: "I have been saying for some time that the government needs to get its act together." |
| She added that she hoped the secretary of state would hurry though the hybrid bill and get it into parliament quickly, promising to co-operate with the legislation and do everything she could to assist the construction of the line. | She added that she hoped the secretary of state would hurry though the hybrid bill and get it into parliament quickly, promising to co-operate with the legislation and do everything she could to assist the construction of the line. |
| There has been criticism of the scheme from senior Labour figures such as the former chancellor Alistair Darling and the former business secretary Lord Mandelson. | There has been criticism of the scheme from senior Labour figures such as the former chancellor Alistair Darling and the former business secretary Lord Mandelson. |
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