Making a case for HS2

Lord Adonis, who was Secretary of State for Transport under the last government, met representatives from the chamber and around 40 local companies in London to discussed the proposed line which would link London and Birmingham before going on to the north and Scotland.

In a survey conducted before the visit, around half the companies were still unsure of the economic benefits HS2 would bring.

Chief executive Louise Bennett said Lord Adonis had given chamber members the strongest business case yet, but there were still concerns.

She said: “We have met several key figures who have tried to put the case for HS2 but have struggled to get the message over to business.

“Lord Adonis gave a very clear and definite message that this was the right proposal for the economy and was the right way forward for the UK.

“Businesses still have concerns but at least the case from Lord Adonis means firms can start to formulate a more informed opinion on whether they are for or against.”

Lord Adonis said that upgrading the current rail system would cost more than HS2 but offer an increase in capacity only two-thirds of HS2.

The peer said connectivity would also be improved – not only to London but to the East Midlands, the north and Scotland.

He said: “The coalition Government has maintained its support for the high speed line which, I believe, says a great deal. In many cases, political parties magnify the differences and that can mean ripping up all the work done by their predecessors and starting again.

“That hasn’t happened in this case, which is rather telling.

“The fundamental case for HS2 is not about speed, it’s about capacity. The case for speed begins to grow when you go further north and into Scotland. But in terms of capacity, we are now at record numbers of rail users and capacity on the West Coast mainline will be exhausted south of Birmingham by the 2020s.”