HS3: A costly vanity project
23 June 2014
SUGGESTED
Monetary Policy
Government action has driven the market for private money
17 June 2014
Lifestyle Economics
Mark Littlewood comments on draft regulations for the plain packaging of tobacco
26 June 2014
Tax and Fiscal Policy
19 November 2024
Dr Richard Wellings sheds doubt on HS3
Commenting on George Osborne’s proposals to build a third high-speed rail link, Dr Richard Wellings, Deputy Editorial Director and Head of Transport at the Institute of Economic Affairs said:
“The relatively short distances between northern cities mean that high-speed rail is an expensive and inefficient way of linking them together. Because northern conurbations are spread out geographically and include numerous different towns, high-speed trains between the largest city centres would make little difference to door-to-door journey times for a high proportion of travellers.
“The Chancellor should be focusing on smaller-scale schemes that deliver high returns for the taxpayer or, better still, that can be financed privately, rather than concocting a headline-grabbing vanity project designed to attract votes.
“Not content with wasting tens of billions on the loss-making HS2 scheme, George Osborne is now threatening to compound the error by forcing taxpayers to fund HS3.”
To arrange an interview please contact Camilla Goodwin, Communications Officer: 0207 799 8920/ 07821 971 443
Notes to editors:
The mission of the Institute of Economic Affairs is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.
The IEA is a registered educational charity and independent of all political parties.
“The relatively short distances between northern cities mean that high-speed rail is an expensive and inefficient way of linking them together. Because northern conurbations are spread out geographically and include numerous different towns, high-speed trains between the largest city centres would make little difference to door-to-door journey times for a high proportion of travellers.
“The Chancellor should be focusing on smaller-scale schemes that deliver high returns for the taxpayer or, better still, that can be financed privately, rather than concocting a headline-grabbing vanity project designed to attract votes.
“Not content with wasting tens of billions on the loss-making HS2 scheme, George Osborne is now threatening to compound the error by forcing taxpayers to fund HS3.”
To arrange an interview please contact Camilla Goodwin, Communications Officer: 0207 799 8920/ 07821 971 443
Notes to editors:
The mission of the Institute of Economic Affairs is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.
The IEA is a registered educational charity and independent of all political parties.
SHARE
