Transport

HS2 decision is economically unjustifiable


Reaction to HS2 decision

Commenting on the Government’s announcement that they will go ahead with the HS2 project, Mark Littlewood, Director General at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:

“It is astonishing that the Government has given the green light to HS2, despite the project’s astronomical costs and its so-called benefits being near universally discredited. There is a need for improving transport capacity, but HS2 is a wildly inefficient solution.

“This vanity project offers zero value for money for taxpayers who will bear the burden of the cost: one which the IEA estimates will exceed £80 billion – more than double what the Government initially planned for. If the HS2 project made any economic sense the private sector would pay for it, rather than piling on the costs to already hard-pressed taxpayers.”

Notes to editors: 
To arrange an interview please contact:

Stephanie Lis, Director of Communications: [email protected] 020 7799 8909 or Nerissa Chesterfield, Communications Officer: [email protected] 020 7799 8920 or 07791 390 268

The IEA’s research on the costs of HS2, The High-Speed Gravy Train: Special Interests, Transport Policy and Government Spending can be downloaded here.

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.



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