Research suggests rail link is 'forgotten'
PLYMOUTH and the rest of the region has been 'forgotten' as the Government pushes ahead with plans for a £32 billion north-south high-speed rail link, MPs have been told.
Calls have been made at Westminster for funding to be ploughed into train routes to the South West to improve 'connectivity'.
It came as the Commons heard High Speed 2 (HS2) would be a "monumentally expensive white elephant" and that the flagship transport project linking London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds should be scrapped, with the cash invested in improving existing tracks.
Concerns have already been raised about the impact of the mammoth cost of the scheme, on funding the rest of the network.
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The Government claims the project will close the north-south divide.
But research by KPMG and campaign group Greenguage21 indicates that Plymouth and the wider region is threatened with having fewer jobs, poorer workers, and a lower economic growth as a result of the scheme.
MPs holding hearings into the High Speed 2 (HS2) project have been told the detrimental economic impact of the proposals on the South West was "the elephant in the room".
The research calculated that as a result of HS2, the South West would have 48,000 fewer jobs by 2040, 0.04 per cent lower annual growth, while the average wage would be £1,400 lower.
The findings have been picked up on by the Cardiff Business Partnership, which in its submission to the transport select committee said the current proposals did not represent a "truly UK national network", and 'ignore' the South West
Comments
by mcspredder
Thursday, October 20 2011, 9:49PM
“Why all the rush, anyway? Just chill and doze for longer on your way to Lands End.”
by kevinretallic
Thursday, October 20 2011, 1:36PM
“maybe we want to be forgotten, i love devon and cornwall for its honeststy and its people.”
by PL1Plym
Thursday, October 20 2011, 11:23AM
“The trouble is once the train gets to Exeter it's "go slow" all the way to Plymouth and then on to Penzance. There isn't a great deal you can do about making journey times faster due to the geographic nature of the line with all it's twist and turns. I think we have Isambard Kingdom Brunel to blame for that! (I think he chose the route where the main line still runs today). The only way you are going to seriously reduce the time is building a tunnel under a chunk of Dartmoor!
Maybe we need an airport?”
by 123eggshell
Thursday, October 20 2011, 10:58AM
“to add to beowulfonline also write to your mp and the new secretary of state for transport
Ms J.Greening at greeningj@parliament.uk You can also keep up with the latest news on
Stop hs2”
by hstmtu4000
Wednesday, October 19 2011, 9:26PM
“As things stand Plymouth and Cornwall are and will likely remain the ass end of the Southwests rail donkey because of a historical victorian rail builders legacy of a slow and sinuous rail route west of Exeter to Plymouth and Penzance.The last serious attempt to do anything about it was in 1930s when the then Great Western Railway was offered interest free loans by the government for various rail improvements schemes in a bid to help eleviate the effects of high unempolyment.Some were completed and are used by todays Plymouth/Paddington trains ie todays Westbury and Frome avoiding lines,but one scheme that would of made a big difference to rail journey times to Plymouth and Cornwall was a new inland Dawlish avoiding line between Exminster near Exeter and Newton Abbot due for completion in 1941.The land was purchased and "pegged out" ready for construction to start but the 2nd war stopped everything.Further a new rail route onward from Newton Abbot to a point near Marley tunnel (South Brent) was also surveyed at that time both new routes to be engineered to a minimum 1 mile radius curvature for high speed.Today of course such investment could probably not be justified but surely it is not beyond the wit of man to ease the worst of the curvature of existing Penzance/Plymouth/Exeter rail route with some targetted investment if £32billion can be found for a new North/South very High-speed rail line.”
by Winstonsmith0
Wednesday, October 19 2011, 9:11PM
“And a photoshoot for Viv!”
by Peter20113
Wednesday, October 19 2011, 8:39PM
“Wow Plymouth to Saltash in 4 minutes - cool!”
by fwancis
Wednesday, October 19 2011, 7:01PM
“Peter 20113 - starting from plymouth? that will be 5 years of consultancy fees, further three years in planning fights in the courts and finally a costly professionally handled tendering process - after the suits have had their pickings, the rail link fund might get across the Tamar.”
by beowulfonline
Wednesday, October 19 2011, 6:02PM
“If you oppose £32+ billion being spent on HS2 please sign this e-petition
https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/353”
by Peter20113
Wednesday, October 19 2011, 5:26PM
“I wonder how far the £400m of EU funding for Cornwall would go to create a high speed rail link from Plymouth to Penzance?”