Aside from the obvious ‘it’s going to go through my back
yard!’ then it really depends. Is Manchester to London in 1 hour and 8 minutes
important to you? The first phase will progress to the West Midlands,
Lichfield, Birmingham way. The second phase will progress north-eastwards,
towards Leeds and north- westwards towards Manchester and Liverpool, in a giant
wobbly ‘Y’ shape connecting the country. Long term maybe even Edinburgh and
Glasgow could benefit.
It’s still a long time away, with phase two completion not
scheduled until 2032. Assuming of course it’s on time. Remember too that it’s
at least 4 governments away and Swampy (remember him, apparently he now lives
in Wales) and his Eco-Warrior friends are yet to get physically involved.
The expenditure on the project will be staggering. It will
benefit the economy, providing jobs on the project and for all players in the
supply chain (let’s hope that we keep it to UK
plc). It will also bring future business opportunities.
Northern Councils are generally in favour. Southern
constituencies much less so, saying that it will cost each local authority involved
around £51m. This is a painful hit for taxpayers. And how much will a ticket
cost?
