HS2 Action Alliance - HS2 Action Alliance - Challenging the case for HS2

Latest News - 11 May 2012

HS2AA launch new advertising campaign today (11 May 2012). As you can see below our advertisment addresses the 'law of dimishing returns' in relation to HS2 and its claimed economic and welfare benefits. Read the full press release here, click on the advert to down load a full size copy and read our latest business case review here.

Compensation consultation expected this week, now elections over
After a successful and well attended briefing in April to the MPs Compensation Forum (as reported here by Andrea Leadsom MP) at which we gave this presentation, HS2AA issue a Parliamentary briefing note to all Phase 1 and prospective Y MPs. A new summary of the key arguments to get a better deal on compensation, in preparation for the imminent consultation, is available here.

Problems with High Speed Rail in Other Countries.
Read the latest summary here; it has been updated to include Argentina and Morocco and additional information on Spain and the USA.

DfT reduced to making bogus comparisons rather than being up front about the latest figures.

Latest DfT figures on value for money of HS2 show it’s now worse than even they previously said. Their Benefit to Cost ratio (BCR) is just 1.2 for Phase 1, however this still overestimates demand and the BCR is really 0.8, that is only 80p return for every £1 spent! When will the treasury insist that HS2 ltd are just throwing good money after bad and call a halt to this huge waste of money? Read our press release here. Our latest Business Case review is available here.

HS2 - A Nationwide Issue
News that HS2AA is proceeding with judicial reviews on HS2 was reported widely yesterday (3 April) by the BBC, ITV, national dailies and local press from Belfast to Littlehampton, Yorkshire to Bognor, Wales to Kent. Evidence that HS2 really is a nationwide issue whatever government say. Read the original press release here. See the BBC Oxford News report here.

Government to be taken to court over HS2

In the last 2 months thousands of people in communities from London to Staffordshire, frustated that the government are not listening nor following the proper processes, have donated enough funds for two judical reviews to proceed, one about environment issues and the other fighting for fair compensation. Read HS2AA's press release here.

EU challenge
Environmental groups challenge EU over HS2. HS2AA fully support the letter of complaint to the EU commission over the UK’s decision on High Speed Rail, that the wildlife trust ( BBOWT) are sending today. For press release from Berks, Bucks, and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) see here. Hilary Wharf, Director of HS2AA says “The UK has a bad record in applying EU environmental legislation – and if the UK courts are not going to remedy this for High Speed 2 then we are confident that the EU Commission will”.

Greening feature article contains shocking revelations on HS2……
Interspersed in Justine Greening’s latest interview is HS2AA’s message on the damming impact of HS2 compared to the widespread benefits of the alternative. Our adverts lie at the heart of her interview – literally – covering 2 of the 8-page feature. See the full interview here

Justine Greening says of HS2 that she had to put “ a lot of mental and emotional effort into it to make sure I got it right” and “she looked really robustly at all the alternatives”.

We think that these two maps neatly expose that she did not get it right (click each one to get a larger version).

What’s more they are based on her department’s own material, and the assumptions are recorded here.

Problems with High Speed Rail in Other Countries. Read the latest summary, updated with revisions for the Netherlands, Portugal and China, here.

Ensuring the environment and community aspects remain a priority. HS2 Ltd must work closely with local authorities, communities and stakeholders to develop the design of HS2 in a way which minimises potential impacts and identifies opportunities for community benefit. Read who they will consult and on what aspects here.

Embarrassed DfT create spurious statistics to cover up their poor business case. DfT responded to HS2AA’s 13 February letter about legal action by quoting figures to suggest HS2 delivers £4 of benefit for every additional £1 spent. This was misleading as it's at least three times better than the real facts that DfT themselves published in January 2012 when they took their decision to proceed with HS2, and it's still worse than the prudent and much better alternative of uprating WCML, that delivers more than £5 benefit. Read more here.

HS2AA launches its legal challenge to HS2. Today (13 Feb) HS2AA serves a formal letter on Justine Greening, Secretary of State for Transport, asking her to abandon her decision to proceed with HS2. The letter also gives her notice that HS2AA may challenge her decision through judicial review. Read more here. Last week 51m anounced a similar intention.

51m launch their legal challenge. Members of 51m, the alliance of local authorities opposed to HS2, have served a formal letter on the Secretary of State for Transport asking her to rescind her decision to proceed with HS2 and giving notice that they may otherwise challenge the decision by way of judicial review. Read full story here

The review of the January 2012 business case shows its gone from bad to worse. Momentum against HS2 is building and the new business case is even worse than before, with a benefits cost ratio under 50p for every £1 invested when up-to-date information and assumptions are used. Its only a matter of time before Government comes to its senses and invests in our real rail needs, creates jobs and growth, and abandons this project. Read our summary or full 5 page review of the business case.

The decision on compensation ignores the fact what 98% of people said about the options. Read about it here

The Fightback Starts Here
Following the announcement to proceed with HS2, HS2 Action Alliance, in conjunction with other groups, intends to mount a legal challenge against the Government regarding this decision.There is a very short timescale within which such a legal action can be brought – less than 3 months from the decision date - and we urgently need to raise funds to enable us to do this.
A dedicated Legal Fund has been set up for all donations to the legal action. Please click here to see how to make a donation. All monies paid into the legal fund will be used solely for legal matters and kept separate from main campaign funds.

Jerry Marshall's open letter to Justine Greening can be read here

What a difference a new job makes Latest blog entry, discussing the results of the public consultation on HS2 and Justine Greening's political career, can be read here

HS2 Public Consultation The results of the HS2 consultation have been published following the Government’s announcement yesterday and show that the vast majority of the 55,000 respondents did not want HS2. Read on here

HS2 announcement in the media Following the Government's announcement yesterday to go ahead with the £32bn HS2 project, the story was widely covered in the media. For a selection of the major press coverage, click here

HS2AA's response to the Government's decision on HS2- Bruce Weston, director of HS2AA said: 'Justine Greening has just committed each and every household in the UK to pay £1,700 for a railway that is not needed and not wanted'. Read the full response here

AGAHST’s response to Government decision on HS2- Jerry Marshall, Chairman, AGAHST said; 'Justine Greening has said that she would make a rational decision on HS2 and she clearly has not. If she had taken a cold hard look at HS2 she would see that it is a disaster waiting to happen'. Read the full response here

Network Rail betray their prejudice in favour of HS2, as despite not disputing either the capacity the 51m solution provides, nor materially the costs (which are a fraction of HS2), they fail to conclude that it is a better more cost-effective approach than HS2. Network Rail focus particularly on the disruption that it would cause, ignoring the fact that it would be insignificant compared to that from HS2's 8 year rebuild of Euston- aptly described by one expert as ''like open heart surgery on a conscious patient.

Poland becomes the latest country to shelve its plans for high speed railways, and even France looks to focus new expenditures on their existing lines. Read a full round-up of the position overseas, and in China.

New Year’s Resolutions for Greening. As Justine Greening prepares to give the go-ahead to HS2 in January (despite widespread public opposition), members of Action Groups Against High Speed Two (AGAHST) along with railway expert Chris Stokes, have been giving some thought to what her New Year’s resolutions should be for the UK’s rail network. Read the resolutions...

New YouGov Poll - Nearly two thirds of population opposed to money being spent on HS2. Click here to read our full press release.

Capacity claims are wrong - Research carried out by HS2 Action Alliance, and verified by independent research firm CRT Viewpoint, has discovered that long distance trains leaving Euston during the week day, evening peak period (16.30 to 18.59) on the West Coast Main Line (WCML) had an average occupancy rate or load factor of just 56 percent. This directly contradicts claims by the DfT and HS2 Ltd that the lack of capacity on the WCML is the central reason why the £32b HS2 rail line needs to be built. You can read the full release here.

18 trains an hour letter - on the 4th December Bruce Weston of HS2AA wrote to Alison Munro, Chief Executive, HighSpeed2 Ltd, requesting that she publishes any documentation that she had on wether running 18 trains per hour was practical on HS2. The full letter can be read here.

Jerry Marshall, Chairman, AGHAST, wrote to all British MPs this week summarising the issues around and opposition to HS2. You can read the letter here.

Following the publication of our research into the load factors on long-distance trains leaving Euston (during peak hours in the working week), we have written to Justine Greening. The letter highlights that peak trains have an average load factor of 56%. This clearly demonstrates that claims by the DfT and HS2 that state that the West Coast Main Line is 'full' are incorrect.

HS2AA research externally validated shows WCML long distance trains are not full at all in the peak. See Financial Times article

Open letter to Justine Greening on Lobby Day 28th November 2011. Click here to read today's STOP HS2 letter to Justine Greening.

DfT's view of arguments for and against HS2 - The DfT in their 17 Nov 2011 House of Commons research paper (RP11-75) summarise how they see the arguments from both sides. Much is drawn from the TSC, and does not give the complete picture, and of course predates any summary of the issues raised in the 55,000 consultation responses – due Dec 2011.

What will Justine Greening say about HS2? Click here to read our guest blog by Jerry Marshall, AGAHST.

IoD members unsure about HS2

Improvements to existing intercity and commuter lines more important than HS2, say directors
Directors concerned about value for money
Larger proportions think that airport capacity increases would improve their productivity

Follow us