The Independent has taken a close interest in the HS2 scheme since it was proposed by Andrew Adonis, transport secretary in the last Labour government, in 2009. We were cautiously in favour of the idea, but worried that the British state’s record of managing large infrastructure projects has been patchy at best.
As the costs mounted and the rationale for the scheme became less strong, our concerns grew. Much more of the route between London and Birmingham than expected was put in tunnels because of pressure from residents through their mostly Conservative MPs. The bat tunnel in Buckinghamshire later became symbolic of excessive environmental regulation. And the critical part of the route, from the marshalling yards of west London to Euston station, has still not been finalised or financed.
