Even if you believe that HS2 will be really expensive and only rich people will use it (which isn't true, because it will have thousands of seats that will need filling), then at least that would degentrify other trains, making more room for the rest of us.
https://twitter.com/GeorgeMonbiot/status/1355047510746787840
Monbiot is right that the business case is nonsense. What he misses is the reason why it is nonsense. It is nonsense because Treasury rules require it to exclude a number of actual benefits, so they massively inflated the benefist they are allowed to include.
For instance: they can't include the benefits of running new trains on the old tracks in the space freed up by HS2. Can't include congestion reduction on the motorways caused by transferring freight to rail. Can't include long-term benefits. Can't include carbon reduction.
So yes, the nominal business case argument that people don't work on trains and therefore saving travel time means they can do more work in an office because they're not wasting time on trains is utter nonsense.
And?
And?
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