Should HS2 be scrapped?

Why is HS2 terminating at Leeds? Why not Carlisle, Newcastle, Edinburgh or Glasgow?
I don't class Leeds as the north!

Yes it should be scrapped. The money they are spending on it could be much better spent upgrading the rest of the rail network. I live in the Tyne valley, our sprinter trains have just been replaced but we got second hand trains not new ones.
It's a busy line too.

I think it should of been but now going by the amount of work and disruption taking place near me it may already too late to justify stopping and the waste of millions already spent. I may be proved wrong.

A massive mistake. Over budget and late. There's a surprise. I would rather see that money being used on the current rail lines and rolling stock and improve them in both appearance and reliability. This project probably has a good number of Boris's mates coining it in so he won't pull the plug.

You can’t upgrade existing lines without disrupting the whole system for years.

Top answer Smilesless2012.

I thought it was always going to be an expensive white elephant and should never have been started. They say it goes to the North - fine if you live in Leeds, but what about us in the North East - home of the first railway!
As usual, we barely exist. Must put cloth cap on and take whippet out.

MayBee70

So how do we get cars and lorries off the roads/motorways ?

HS2 won't take cars/lorries off motorways if there's only one main route and links are bad at the destinations and people have to transfer to road travel. That's why it would be better to have a functioning network, which links small towns. The rail system east/west is appalling. Where I live, it's sometimes quicker to travel into and out of London for a 50 mile trip. I've also tried to use public transport for cross Pennine routes and from towns in Greater Manchester to the city centre. All of them were inefficient and expensive, so it's no wonder people use roads.

mokryna
I think trains in the south used by commuters are extremely overcrowded too (pre-Covid). It all needs a complete overhaul and the money would be far better spent on the whole network than on shortening one journey for a privileged few.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-54279550

I used to travel by rail around Europe as we had free rail travel and I was always ashamed of the state of our railways/trains when I got back to this country.

It would

Sorry to derail the main subject but I live in France, originally from the Surrey, and when I first visited my daughter in the north of England, last ten years, I was horrified at the state of the trains. In the 60s my daily trip to work to London, although overcrowded, at least there were frequent trains, trains that were trains, whereas recently in the north I was traveling in sort of converted bus/tram. I couldn’t believe it disgusting considering what the south has. Southerners ought to try traveling in the north.
I would be interest to know whether the person writing is living in the north or south.

So how do we get cars and lorries off the roads/motorways ?

I agree with most on here. Scrap it and improve east/west and suburban lines.

It was a bad idea from the start and as many have already stated it would have been better to invest in local transport. Also if more people are going to be working from home it could end up being a complete ‘white elephant’.

Lord Berkeley was on the tv this lunchtime and made reference to enquiries going on in relation to fraud Re HS2.

Yes, it definitely should be scrapped!

Yes, it should be scrapped. It’s a huge amount of money that could be spent elsewhere. I agree that the entire network needs upgrading. The East Coast line between Edinburgh and Aberdeen still uses diesel trains and some of the signals are the old-fashioned clapperboard ones that you see on Thomas the Tank Engine. I suppose there’s no electricity to power the traffic light style signals.

What Linsclass and GillT57 said. Definitely cancel, and I speak as one who really enjoys travelling on high-speed (and other) trains.

I always said that if I was elected, I would cancel all the H projects; HS2, Heathrow expansion and Hinckley Point.
I'd vote for you!

Yes
And I agree with what ayse says - the whole network needs improvement and could be used to get traffic and freight off the overcrowded roads.

Lincslass

If it was running from top North of Scotland to the South coast, the maybe. From Brum to London to shave 20 minutes off a journey, no. There are many places that suffer from lack of decent transport links, my area for one. You have to travel two hour, numerous changes to get anywhere mainline. Let us fix what we have not pay for a white elephant, destroying peoples homes and ancient woodland. Still guess the bloated businessmen can do 20 mins more work on the way to London or home. ?

This is completely how I feel too. The squillions which it will eventually cost could be used to dramatically improve the existing network, especially the East-West routes which seem to be the worst for timetabling and rolling stock. The main factor though, for me, is the destruction of acres of ancient woodland, rural communities destroyed, all for a few minutes of a working day. Absolute nonsense. I always said that if I was elected, I would cancel all the H projects; HS2, Heathrow expansion and Hinckley Point.

It isn’t just about making journeys quicker. We need to get lorries off the road and use trains more. Our rail system is archaic, partly because, unlike Europe, it wasn’t bombed and replaced during the war. I do think that branch lines should be reopened and rail travel should be extremely cheap for everyone to use.

Yes!

If it was running from top North of Scotland to the South coast, the maybe. From Brum to London to shave 20 minutes off a journey, no. There are many places that suffer from lack of decent transport links, my area for one. You have to travel two hour, numerous changes to get anywhere mainline. Let us fix what we have not pay for a white elephant, destroying peoples homes and ancient woodland. Still guess the bloated businessmen can do 20 mins more work on the way to London or home. ?