Essay on "HS2, or High Speed"

Essay 4 pages (1388 words) Sources: 7 Style: Harvard

[EXCERPT] . . . .

HS2, or High Speed 2, is a proposed high-speed railway expansion between London, the Midlands, and the North of England, with a later potential expansion into Scotland. High Speed Railways, as a concept, have been growing all over the EU since the 1980s. Germany, France and Spain have been aggressive leaders in this field, believing that for Europe to be truly united economically, the transportation system must be robust enough to encourage travel between countries and between longer distances within countries. In Britain, the first High Speed Line ran from London through the Channel Tunnel, a 108 km distance. In fact, Britain's railway infrastructure dates primarily from the Victorian era, which does not permit operating speeds above 201 km/h. Movement within Britain and the need to move to France increased over 50 per cent since the 1970s, thus requiring new solutions to transport and commute issues (Atkins 2009).

While the concept of High Speed railways is endorsed by Britain's three main political parties, there remains controversy and disagreement over which cities should be placed on the rout, the environmental impact of HS2, the actual performance of the railway, the affordability of the project, and even whether it reduces carbon emissions, as it states (Millward 2010). However, most of the country agrees something must be done to improve inner-city links and shrink the time it takes to traverse the country. The solution is simple, according to Transportation Secretary Lord Adonis -- it is either high-speed or more motorways and planes (Cheap fast trains "are transport future" 2009).

Hypothesis- The HS2 project, while laudable in some areas of the EU, is not a viable option for the London to central and north Britain because the business case is based on unrealistic assumptions, the environmental impact remains unassessed, and the strategic benefits are questionable.

Summary of Articles- The arguments regarding the HS2 fall into three major categories: fiscal, environmental, and strategic. On one hand, the government's figures showed a fairly reasonable construction cost, based on many previous smaller scale projects with quick paybacks. The economic reality, according to some, is that with a flattening economy, taxpayers are being asked to fund a project that may or may not see paybacks by 2026. In addition, many of the reports fail to adequately acknowledge that there are some clear difficult geographic features between London and Birmingham; even more so at the split between Birmingham and Manchester and Birmingham and Leeds (Wendover Technology 2010). The government also believes that there is a considerable value of time that should be noted in view of increasing commute demands. In fact, according to a government survey, 70 per cent of those surveyed think that their time is valuable enough to justify the cost of a High Speed railway. Indeed, it is not just the time spent in route, but waiting for the next transportation service, that must be factored into any equation. Robust routes and fast trains alleviate this problem for most individuals, the government says (Valuing the Benefits of HS2 (London - West Midlands) 2011).

It is not just people that the HS2 will move, but needed cargo and rail freight. Demand is growing at an exponential level every year, and the current railway system cannot handle the influx of new demand. The WCML is the busiest long distance route for freight in Britain and still cannot handle traffic from the Channel Tunnel, the Thames Ports, and the Midlands/NW region. This results in extraneous costs and time delays that are, by necessity, passed on to consumers. Using the HS2, then, existing lines will be freed up to transport more cargo or other non-critical products, freeing up the High Speed lines for passengers and critical cargo (Greengauge 2011).

Compare/Contrast- The government's position is that the past decade has shown a literal renaissance in rail travel -- increasing passenger numbers by over 50% and freight by 40%. The factors that are driving this are road congestion, lack of adequate airport routes, and environmental concerns. If these trends are projected into the 2020s, though, and nothing drastic is done, Britain may well lag behind the EU in terms of its ability to grow economically. Major… READ MORE

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