The HS2 ‘roadshow’ continues to tour the country, making local if not national headlines.

The general picture seems hardly to have shifted in months since the public consultation began – its backers in business, the rail industry and the major cities support it just as enthusiastically, those in rural areas and market towns and county councils hardly seem won over now they have seen more detail about the route proposal.

So it seems we can probably expect continuing minor changes to the technological proposals to ensure the least possible disturbance for people living near the line. At this stage, these will not be enough to placate them; although in the long term, maybe once it is up and running, quieter than expected, the protestors will look back on their anger now as unjustified.