North West 'Nimbys' must not be allowed to delay new high speed rail line

1:13pm Monday 28th January 2013 in News

North West 'Nimbys' must not be allowed to delay new high speed rail line North West 'Nimbys' must not be allowed to delay new high speed rail line

A WIRRAL Euro MP is warning North West "Nimbys" must not be allowed to delay construction of a multi-billion pound high speed rail line.

Chris Davies' call came as the routes of high-speed rail links to cities in the north of England were unveiled, in a move Prime Minister David Cameron said would boost Britain's stagnant economy.

Included in the scheme is a "dedicated link" alongside the high-speed line at Crewe to link up with standard trains - reducing journey times to Liverpool and Glasgow.

The project has been welcomed by many civic and business leaders in the region but the first tranche proved controversial, especially in Tory heartlands which will be affected, infuriating MPs and campaigners.

Liberal Democrat MEP Mr Davies said: "There is nothing new about people protesting against railway construction.

"Plans for the Liverpool and Manchester line were criticised nearly 200 years ago as 'the most absurd scheme that ever entered into the head of a man'.

"Yet the opening of the line in 1830 inspired railway building across the world.

"The North West is in danger now of being left behind. Europe has built 3,000 miles of high speed rail line but only 70 miles from London to the Channel Tunnel are in Britain.”

Extending the already-planned London to Birmingham "HS2" line as far as Manchester and Leeds is designed to cut journey times, ease overcrowding and boost regional business.

Officials say the £32.7bn project will create at least 100,000 jobs but the Government is braced for a fresh backlash from communities through which the line will pass and some controversy over the chosen location of stations.

The Department for Transport said there would be five stops on the 211-mile extension northwards from Birmingham - scheduled to be completed in 2032, six years after the first phase. 

They are: Manchester - alongside the existing Piccadilly station; Manchester Airport - interchange by the M56 between Warburton Green and Davenport Green; in the East Midlands - at Toton, between Nottingham and Derby and one mile from the M1; Sheffield - at Meadowhall shopping centre and Leeds - at New Lane in the South bank area connected to the main station by walkway.

The derogatory term "Nimby" - standing for "Not In My Back Yard" - was popularised in the mid-1980s by Thatcherite environment secretary the late-Nicholas Ridley.

Comments(6)

David Scott says...
1:54pm Mon 28 Jan 13

This project is estimated at 33 billion pounds (for now) - that's £1000 from every family in the UK.

That it has the enthusiastic support of Chris Davies and Nick Clegg must be a major further cause for concern!

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michophull says...
3:51pm Mon 28 Jan 13

Rail travel in the UK is overpriced and the railways have proved to be ineffective. They are a 19th century solution to an 18th century problem.

We'd be better offf ripping them up and building roads over them.

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bigfoot says...
5:14pm Mon 28 Jan 13

Travelling is an art, 2 hours break on the rail journey to London can be relaxing before the hiatus of London.
From Liverpool to the first section of HS track is 50 miles,so any advantage is lost.
And the cost will no doubt escalate as the construction goes on-its a waste.Only beneficiaries will probably be Osborne's mates in the industry and his constituents.

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Dantealighieri says...
10:46am Tue 29 Jan 13

I always tend to support Nimbys, basically because it's a particular badge I myself wear with pride. On the odd occasion I may be persuaded to drop my Nimbyism for the greater good of mankind, but, generally, as a Nimby I feel that someone has to make a stand against the stupidity of politicians, locally or nationally. The main reason put forward for this vanity project, HS2, is the business case. In twenty years you may be able to arrive at a business meeting at 8.30am, instead of 9 o'clock. Why not just say, 'See you at nine', and save 33 billion? The other thing is of course in 20 years time, the growing trend of business being carried out via video links, internet and telephone conferencing will have grown, and possibly businessmen will regard train travel, no matter how fast, as a waste of time. So that will leave ordinary six pack Joe public to fill the seats. If they can afford it. Still if the proposed luxury penthouse apartments, with sofas, TVs, computers, and observation decks, come to pass, it will be a price worth paying. Trouble is by the time you've sat down, popped the tab on your first Heineken, it'll be time to get off because you'll be where ever you're going. Of course one can understand the Chris Davies take on this, he's an MEP, who, true to type, regards the grand project as everything, and the cost as nothing.

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hildebrand says...
12:20pm Tue 29 Jan 13

it's nimbys in the Conservative rural south who will block this, ironic really.

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uncatom says...
9:42am Thu 31 Jan 13

Ha ha the biggest nimbys are the tories,they need all that land for fox hunting,and if it all goes pear shaped which is the probability they can always blame somebody else,as they do.

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