Senior rail industry insiders said it would be “madness” to cancel the multibillion-pound HS2 scheme. One told the Guardian that NPR would be “buggered” because it relied on the Manchester link of HS2, and claimed there was “nothing ready” in the government’s integrated rail review that could replace it.
Going all in on the Northern Powerhouse Rail plans is not a terrible idea (Andy Burnham has suggested it if the last leg of HS1 is being cancelled) but this will have to be built at some point so why delay it further incurring more costs?
Political point scoring with drivers.
Bet you the next announcement they make will be something to try and please drivers by saying “we diverted this money from being wasted on HS2 to this road infrastructure”.
That seems depressing inevitable now you mention it.