HS2, or High Speed 2, Essay

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g. Chunnel), take upwards of 1.5 to 2 decades to adequately plan and construct. Thus, no is the time to look forward to the future of railway in Britain and invest in the possible. This will, in fact, protect the next two generations from being saddled with even higher debt and potentially a lower rate of benefits (Department of Transport 2009).

However, other research shows that the government's economic case is unsound because it depends on rates of return that are implausible as well as unproven synergies of growth demands created by the railway itself (e.g. because the railway is high-speed, more people will choose to use it). Less expensive solutions are available through alternative transport systems, and can likely be implemented more quickly, thus relieving congestion and serious urban problems now, rather than in years or decades. This is surmised by looking at the transportation trends over the past 15 years and finding that the benefit case is overstated somewhere between 40 and 150 per cent, depending on the variable. In addition, the psychographic and demographic portrayal of the business traveler is inconsistent with the costs of the new line (Bluespace Thinking 2010).

Analysis- Statistics professors often joke that there are three kinds of lies in the world: lies, damn lies, and then statistics. Both sides of the argument on the HS2 have extremely bright people working on the analysis, and while politicized, it is doubtful that either faction is actually telling falsehoods to get their point across. Rather, sometimes, when doing analysis, it is just as important to understand what was used for analysis as what was not. It is also reasonable that both sides would, in fact, need to make projections and assumptions that go forward 10-15 or more years.

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The government seems to believe that trends in transportation will geometrically jump, while the counter side believes they will only numerically improve. Second, the anti-HS2 side believes that the tremendous cost in money and resources afforded by the HS2 expansion could be used better elsewhere, to glean a quicker solution to the problems of pollution and overcrowding. It is also interesting that there is a clear polarization between large and small government on the issue -- with the smaller, regional and township councils opposing the project.

Simply reducing the maximum speed to between 300 and 320 km/h would allow any new trains or routes to use existing rails, saving millions of pounds and time. Environmentalists are soundly opposed to the HS2, not just because of the data, but more because they believe the data is incomplete. Indeed, the government seems to have completely ignored the global trend in stay-at-home offices and Virtual computing as the wave of the future -- instead believing consumers will simply want more of the same that they have today, albeit faster. There is also no cogent data indicating how consumers will be aided in those areas where construction disrupts their homes. Finally, a geological expert presented data showing that HS2 tunneling could cause long-term damage to Britain's chalk aquifer system that is responsible for the water supply to north London. At present, there simply is not enough unbiased and persuasive data available to completely support the project as written.

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