Business leaders urge government to commit to high-speed rail
New railway between London and Birmingham would create “thousands” of engineering and construction jobs, it is claimed
- Published in News.
A group of economists said HS2 would help to create up to 1m British jobs
Business leaders, union bosses and economists have urged the government to press ahead with plans for a high-speed rail line between London and Birmingham.
In letters to the Financial Times, Daily Telegraph and the Guardian, they said the proposed HS2 would boost growth and create jobs.
The final decision on whether to go ahead with the controversial rail link has been postponed until this month.
Signatories including John Longworth, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, argued in the Telegraph that Britain's “poor infrastructure” was a “major obstacle” to long-term growth.
With just 70 miles of high-speed rail track, they said the UK lagged behind other “world-class” economies such as France and Japan, and also trailed Morocco, which has 422 miles, and Saudi Arabia, with 342.
“The absence of a high-speed rail line connecting the northern parts of Britain to London and the European Union is a continuous embarrassment to those promoting British business overseas,” they told the newspaper.
Writing to the Financial Times, a group of economists said HS2 would support the creation of up to one million British jobs and give an “immediate boost” to the British construction industry.
In the Guardian, signatories including Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT, and Frances O'Grady, deputy general secretary of the TUC, said the planned line would immediately bring thousands of engineering and construction jobs to the UK, as well as jobs long-term in the rail industry and regional employment.
TaxPayers' Alliance director Matthew Sinclair said: “While rich special interests are lining up to defend the multi-billion pound high speed rail scheme, surveys show that most of the public and most businesses would rather do something else with the huge amount of money it is going to cost them.
“Taxpayers can't afford the thousand pounds a family that the new line will cost. With so many pressures on the public finances the government should reconsider this enormous white elephant.”