HS2 illogical, unevidenced, clutching at straws statements

On the 13 October 2022, W Mids transport chief and Leader of Brum CC, Cllr Ian Ward said,

"HS2 will be net carbon neutral in operation and it will allow more freight to be moved to the local rail network."

Unfortunately, so many GHG will have been emitted in construction, it will take decades, that we don't have, for those emissions to be wiped out by only, a supposedly too, net zero operation (not gross).  It ain't worth persisting with HS2 when the climate catastrophe is now upon us.

Net zero simply means that you hope that carbon capture and storage will be successful.  But like nuclear fusion, CCS is still out of reach.  And we don't have enough land on the planet suitable for growing enough trees, anyway.

You can't move any freight from the West Coast Mainline when you will still need the same number of passenger trains to serve the many stations that HS2 is too fast to stop at.  HS2 is of use, mainly, to only three cities and two of their airports.  Some trains will stop at Crewe and Toton (or is Toton the new E arm terminal?).

In addition, people take as gospel highly optimistic claims by supporters.  So exaggerated and optimistic that there is no evidence to back them up - only hope in desperate, absurd claims.  Therefore, they should not be made.  It verges on lying.

THEIR MISLEADING GLOSS IS HERE!

THEIR MISLEADING GLOSS is here:  https://www.hs2.org.uk/where/      The video promises "1000s of extra seats for commuter services at over 100 stations on the UK's existing network and, free up space for more freight by rail".

MY REALITY is here:  They can't even put freight on to finish the railway they built between Worcester and Derby through the Black Country, let alone the rather necessary commuter and regional trains alongside traffic-choked main roads and motorways!

They replace one perfectly fast enough high-speed line with an even faster, dedicated high-speed line that does not stop at any of the stations the first high-speed line stops at!!  We have an overcrowded railway network because the trainspotters have never spotted that they themselves have been destroying railway lines that Beeching very properly closed but, never intended to be obliterated as our trainspotters have done.  Why don't they stop destroying railway lines, first?

MORE HERE:

Media reports indicate that the E arm to Leeds is uncertain and may be cancelled.

The monetary cost, for both arms, is over £100 billion of deadly greenhouse gases from unfortunately finite fossil fuels, we must conserve URGENTLY.

External costs are ecocidal and are never taken into account (probably for that uncomfortable reason).

YET, on dedicated tracks, it is isolated from the rest of the railway network and because it goes so fast it can only stop at very few stations - outside of London at two stations (Crewe, Toton), two airports (Brum, Manchester) and three terminus stations (Brum, Manchester, Leeds).

A useless, vanity project of selfish prestige and self-aggrandisement.

THIS CAN'T BE RIGHT, CAN IT?

Dear Mike - and Opposition Leader, Sean

I know I am in a very small minority in pointing this out.  However, do I have a point?

All you politicians are fully in support of destroying the UK's very last and, one of only two, north-south mainline railways between Brum city centre and the Welsh coast.  This is the principal, Derby to Devon via Dudley and Worcester Railway.  This destruction on 16 Kms is costing over half a billion pounds (for light rail, very light rail and, ultra-light rail on this major, heavy rail route!).

At the same time, you are all united in wanting HS2 to give a very small minority of people the choice of either train or plane when travelling between the Big Four, English cities and, two of their airports.  Some of the trains may stop at Crewe and Toton but nowhere else because it goes so fast!!  This is costing us all over £100 billion in both cost and, in fast-rising, deadly greenhouse gases to bring horror and catastrophe, we are told.

Please give me your rebuttal, your reasons for why I am wrong and you are right.

Best wishes

Tim

High Scandal 2 is only good as an alternative for plane travellers!

High Scandal 2 is only good as an alternative for plane travellers!

Is my research correct, here?

Am I right in thinking that High Scandal 2, outside of London, only stops at one station, two airports and the three terminus stations - Brum, Manchester and Leeds? Or, will it stop near to East Midlands Airport, too, as E Mids Hub station, aka Toton?

What is the point of spending over £100 billion of greenhouse gases to escalate climate catastrophe, in order to give plane flyers the choice of High Scandal 2 train or plane?

How can passengers be moved to the High Scandal 2 line when it goes so fast it cannot stop at the existing intercity station they might want to get off at?! You will still need the intercity trains, won't you? So what is the point of High Scandal 2?  

Meanwhile, the UK's last principal mainline, half used, 120 Kms Black Country Railway gets broken up as part of the Disintegrated Rail Plan into light rail, very light rail and, ultra-light rail on the section in the 1 million population of the Black Country! This means more changes, more delays as you wait around for the next connection and, more complications.