{"id":1346,"date":"2020-01-21T15:08:20","date_gmt":"2020-01-21T14:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/?p=1346"},"modified":"2020-01-21T15:08:20","modified_gmt":"2020-01-21T14:08:20","slug":"stop-wasting-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/?p=1346","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Stop wasting money!\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Stop wasting money!\u2019 Fury at eye-watering \u00a3106billion cost of HS2 rail link – poll<\/strong><\/h1>\n

THE eye-watering \u00a3106billion cost for the HS2 high-speed rail link has sparked outrage, with Express.co.uk readers demanding the hugely expensive project is scrapped.<\/h3>\n

An unpublished Government review seen by the Financial Times has warned there is a \u201cconsiderable risk\u201d the cost of the project could increase further by \u00a320billion<\/a>. The review, conducted by former HS2 chairman Doug Oakervee, found costs could spiral by up to 20 percent beyond the \u00a381billion-\u00a388billion estimate made by current HS2 chairman Allan Cook just four months ago. HS2 was allocated a budget of just \u00a356billion in 2015.<\/p>\n

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Now in an Express.co.uk poll, readers have demanded the expensive scheme be ditched, raging it is a huge waste of money.<\/p>\n

The poll, which ran from 12.30pm until 8.10pm on Monday January 20, saw 5,152 votes cast, asked: \u201cShould the HS2 rail link go ahead even if it costs \u00a3106billion?\u201d<\/p>\n

A huge 83.8 percent (4,319 readers) said it should not go ahead, while just 15.4 percent (795 readers said it should be given the green light. The remaining 0.8 percent (38 readers) were undecided.<\/p>\n

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Express.co.uk readers lashed out at the inflated cost of the scheme, demanding it be binned and the huge sum of money spent elsewhere.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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HS2 news: Express.co.uk readers have lashed out at the potential huge cost of the project\u00a0(Image: GETTY \/ PA)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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HS2 news: The review found costs could spiral by up to 20 percent beyond the
\n\u00a381billion-\u00a388billion estimate\u00a0(Image: PA )<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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One said: \u201cHS2 is a wicked waste of money.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe longer this charade continues the greater the waste of cash.<\/p>\n

\u201cScrap it now and instead improve the rest of the network and restore the lines that deprived many large communities of their rail link.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another reader estimated if HS2 gets the go-ahead, the final bill will almost double to around \u00a3200billion.<\/p>\n

They wrote: \u201cLots of better ways to spend a \u00a3100B to improve transport. Saving a few minutes on a railway journey will deliver no value.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this stupid vanity project ever goes ahead I bet the final bill will be closer to \u00a3200billion and all it will deliver for the public is unaffordable ticket prices.\u201d<\/p>\n

One reader raged at the huge cost reducing journey times by just 20 minutes, and believes it could take \u201chundreds of years\u201d to recover the investment.<\/p>\n

They commented: \u201cThousands of millions of pounds to shave 20 minutes time off of a journey that only a comparatively small number of people will ever take. This money could be spent in far better ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to know, given the predicted ticket price and the expected number of journeys, how many hundreds of years it will be before the cost is recovered.\u201d<\/p>\n

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HS2 news: The project was allocated a budget of just \u00a356billion in 2015\u00a0(Image: GETTY)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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HS2 news: Andy Burnham described the leak of the report and potential cost as ‘quite worrying’\u00a0(Image: GETTY)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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A fourth reader believed the \u00a3106billion would be better spent on much-needed improvements to the NHS and education system, raging HS2 will price out Britons earning an average wage.<\/p>\n

They said: \u201cHow many hospitals, GP surgeries, schools, doctors and nurses could we supply for that \u00a3106billion?<\/p>\n

\u201cAll so the rich can cut 20 minutes off their train journeys from London to the North and for a train that NO ONE on ordinary wages could afford to ride on!\u201d<\/p>\n

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham described the leak of the report and potential cost as \u201cquite worrying\u201d and claimed that using conventional lines in the North would be a \u201csecond-class option\u201d.<\/p>\n

A separate report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has found the pledge from Boris Johnson to build 40 new NHS hospitals would be less than a quarter of the cost of HS2.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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HS2 news: Where does your rail fare go?\u00a0(Image: EXPRESS)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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The think tank said the cost of building 40 hospitals by 2030 could reach \u00a324billion.<\/p>\n

Less than one percent of the estimated cost of HS2 could fund the cost of 6,000 more police officers on Britain\u2019s streets.<\/p>\n

Despite the huge costs involved, the report recommended the Government should \u201con balance\u201d continue with the 250mph railway.<\/p>\n

The major infrastructure project aims to connect London\u2019s Euston station to Birmingham by 2026.<\/p>\n

The Department for Transport has said up to 14 trains per hour would run in each direction – slashing journey times from one hour 21 minutes to 52 minutes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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HS2 news: Grant Shapps said the ‘massive decision’ on whether to go ahead with HS2 ‘needs to be fact-based’\u00a0(Image: PA)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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The second phase, which will run from Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester, is expected to be completed by 2040 – seven years behind the original target.<\/p>\n

The new high-speed trains are predicted to cut journey times from Manchester to London by 60 minutes, to just one hour seven minutes.<\/p>\n

Birmingham to Leeds would take 49 minutes, down from two hours.<\/p>\n

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the \u201cmassive decision\u201d on whether to go ahead with HS2 \u201cneeds to be fact-based\u201d.<\/p>\n

More info: Express.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018Stop wasting money!\u2019 Fury at eye-watering \u00a3106billion cost of HS2 rail link – poll THE eye-watering \u00a3106billion cost for the HS2 high-speed rail link has sparked outrage, with Express.co.uk readers demanding the hugely expensive project is scrapped. An unpublished Government review seen by the Financial Times has warned there is a \u201cconsiderable risk\u201d the cost […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1346"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1346"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1346\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1348,"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1346\/revisions\/1348"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}