Lord Digby Jones: HS2 "will make Birmingham the most northern suburb of London"

Comments

[Philip]

He is in favour of HS2, and says it should go to the North and Scotland for economic and environmental benefits.

As for Birmingham being a suburb of London: the HS2 journey time will be 45-50 minutes. Peterborough is 45-50 minutes from Kings Cross, but I haven't heard anyone say that city is a suburb of London.

[Edward Huxley]

At the end of this I couldn`t decide whther the people discussing it were for or against the project.

I hope common sense will prevail: saving half an hour on a journey from London to Birmingham on this white elephant which would ruin part of our countryside is just barmy.

Knock it on the head, please.

[Mr Angry]

There is nothing that truly makes the case for HS2, it is unwanted, unneeded, unaffordable and ultimately pointless grandstanding by the Green lobby who, as usual, have not even vaguely thought it through.

HS2 - Not wanted and a electoral millstone around our necks if the government are stupid enough to force it through.

[Tony Dean]

I made the case against the HS2 on my forum on July 29th. saying that flying there is faster..'The flight time from London, United Kingdom to Birmingham, United Kingdom is:
12 minutes...'

The flying time to other cities I pointed out also in the same post:-
http://www.rantonuk.org/forum/Blah.pl?m-1311962910/

We are already well served to travel to every city in the country by air, there is no need, or sense, in ripping up the countryside to give fortunes to Camerons business buddies with building firms - he also wants them to rip up the countryside to build real estate on!

[Martin Marprelate- A Man in the Street!]

Philip @ 15:06 I am against HS2 as to me it starts and finishes at the wrong terminii in both Cities, it ought to be from St Pancras to Birmingham New Street not from an already overloaded Euston to some God forsaken station in the outskirts of Brum. In any event it is not needed and will do more damage to the environment than it would ever cure. It's a groundnut oil scheme on rails! A vanity project we simply cannot afford!

I would however say that Lord Digby Jones (Labour) is wrong in that Reading is only 20 minutes from Paddington by the fastest trains but has NOT become "The London Borough of Reading" but retains its own identity. How much more so Birmingham.

[A Public Sector Worker]

"As for Birmingham being a suburb of London"

The point he made was that anyone who thought Birmingham would benefit economically from HS2 was wrong, therefore I'm guessing the "suburb of London" bit meant that the only benefit would be potentially greater commuter traffic to London.