Informed HS2 debate, please

The HS2 debate seems to feature a very high proportion of assertions without basis in fact

I would hope to see an intelligent and informed comment regarding High Speed Two in the pages of Professional Engineering, but sadly I can only say that Terence Mair's letter (PE May) suggests this is not the case.

His assertion that a rail traveller from Coventry to London will have to go on a 20-minute detour to Birmingham in order to catch a high speed rail service is in flat contradiction to what is proposed. In fact, the HS2 plans include both a 'Birmingham Interchange' station between Coventry and Birmingham (for which the local transport authority is proposing a rapid transit link from Coventry) and continued operation of three fast services per hour on the existing rail line, one of which is proposed to serve stations in the local area that currently have no direct London trains.

The HS2 debate seems to feature a very high proportion of assertions without basis in fact. In the hope of stimulating informed comment, I would like to point out that the actual proposals do not feature any of the following: a London-Birmingham section costing over £30bn; a saving of just 10 (or 20) minutes in London-Birmingham (or London-Manchester) journey times; stations in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire without other rail links; only a single 'inter-city' train per hour on the 'classic' line from Euston to Birmingham post-HS2; closure of existing West Midlands stations; a complete lack of benefits for the regions; no improvements for places north of the new infrastructure... I could go on.

Despite the fact that the full proposals are freely available to anyone with an internet connection, all of the above appear to be common currency!

Caspar Lucas, Stourbridge, West Midlands

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