What happened to HS2? The project that made Britain a laughing stock
I t was supposed to be the flagship rail project to the north-south divide, a catalyst for growth, new employment opportunities and unrivalled connectivity.
London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield would be linked by trains travelling at up to 248mph. There would be connections to Heathrow and potentially to the Channel Tunnel. The cost was to be a mere £32.7 billion.
Almost two decades after it was first proposed, however, HS2 is in tatters. The absence of a guiding mind, a single accountable person in Westminster or Whitehall, has led to runaway costs, delays and routes being axed. What remains is little more than a skeleton of the original design.
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