‘It’s torn up the countryside’: Londoners on HS2

We ask Londoners what they think about the high speed rail saga.

Transcript

00:00The High Speed Railway, otherwise known as the HS2, is the largest infrastructure project in the United Kingdom at the moment,

00:08with a train that aims to link London to the Midlands, with trains capable of reaching up to 225 miles per hour.

00:17The project aims to boost capability and cut journey times and drive regional economic growth.

00:23In 2023, the government revised the scope of HS2, cancelling the leg from Birmingham to Manchester.

00:30But construction continues on the central route from Birmingham to the West Midlands section to London.

00:38But what do Londoners think of the High Speed Rail project, otherwise known as HS2, in the UK and High Speed Rail in general?

00:46Well, I think it's been very badly managed, as far as I can understand, being exceeded its budget.

00:55I'm not happy with the way it's torn up the countryside at all.

01:00But having gone that far, I'm not happy that they cut the next bit, because that would have made more sense.

01:07So it seems to me a typical case of sort of doing things by halves, really.

01:11Yeah, I think they should have started in the north.

01:15I've gone down to Birmingham from the north.

01:19I've got the train from Birmingham to London quite a few times.

01:23It's a very good service.

01:25Didn't really see why they needed it to start here.

01:29I would have preferred it personally if there'd been no HS2, just, you know, faster trains.

01:35But I just think it's a huge infrastructure project that wasn't kind of thought out properly.

01:41But there we are.

01:43Brilliant. It'd be brilliant.

01:44We should use the railways more anyway for goods and transport, etc., rather than on the roads.

01:49So, yeah.

01:50Oh, yeah. 100%. 100%.

01:52I think it would connect the country more.

01:54It would 100% connect the people more.

01:56More people could travel in and out daily.

01:58And that would, like, I think somehow that would better the living situation as well.

02:05Because, first of all, the commuting would be less expensive.

02:09And then just around London, there'll be more spaces to rent or to own.

02:14No, I think trains are definitely the way forward, you know, especially with climate change.

02:19It's just, like, it's just everything is done by half.

02:24So, you know, having decided to be HS2, then it should have been done properly.

02:29And then not, you know, it's going to be expensive.

02:32But then, like, successive governments changed their mind.

02:35And then, you know, SUNAC got rid of, you know, put the brakes on.

02:40Yeah, I mean, some of the trains seem to work very well, you know, East Coast Line and, you know, Virgin and so.

02:52I do think, you know, the whole way the railways are run is a different thing again.