Bodblog

When the Institute for Economic Affairs reported last week that HS2 could cost £80 billion (as opposed to current £42 billion cost), fresh doubt was cast over the project. Even Alister Darling, once a keen advocate, said it could become a 'nightmare'. Well it almost is a nightmare, with not just the expected opposition from the Tory shires, but from commerce world too (with the Institute of Directors claiming it should be scrapped all together, and even the CBI expressing scepticism). Essentially, the economic case is the effects of increasing capacity on rail, taking traffic off the motorways and flightpaths up North ( but alledgely could just turn the formerly great economic city of Birmingham into another London commuter town) and reducing journey times (but this calculation is based on the idea the business travellers use their time unproductively, and this is simply wrong to anyone who's actually been on a train and seen business travellers; sending spreadshe