Speedier rail line plan can’t be justified (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Speedier rail line plan can’t be justified

7:45am Tuesday 16th March 2010 in

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SIR – The nation is now planning to spend £30 billion (which we don’t have) on a super-speed train line to shave a few minutes, from a few journeys, for a few users?

What financial nonsense. Where’s the cost-benefit case in that?

In most door-to-door journey times, the train element represents only a minor proportion of the total elapsed time, so the real amount saved on the whole journey would be utterly trivial.

At what cost? There is not only the borrowed money, but also the disturbance, disruption and environmental distress from the resultant despoiling of the precious countryside through which it passes.

This plan cannot be justified on any practical level.

One must assume that it only arises from a puerile desire of some politicians to have a even bigger ‘train set’ to play with, now that they can no longer claim for a personal Hornby-Dublo on expenses.

Graham Hoyle, Kirkbourne Grove, Baildon, Shipley