Whilst it is very easy to be swept away with the excitement of planning a high speed railway, a moment’s thought needs to be given to the poor inhabitants of homes on the route.
Recently the Transport Secretary has said that local communities will not be given any chance to veto plans to build the line in their area. This means that real consideration needs to be given to the impact of such a line on the communities which it will effect and whether - in the long run – the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.
For example, questions have been raised over whether a single high speed network would be more useful than, say, major investment in the current rail network. Both would create many rail jobs. The question is which investment would create the most sustainable rail jobs?
However, I feel that because the government PR machine is
now in motion, there is little chance of any serious thought been given to anything in this matter. We will have a high speed rail network whether like it or not (or need it).
