A National Audit Office report published on Friday has found that the growth in passenger numbers is less then projected by the Department for Transport in 2007, but the cost of rolling stock is higher then expected.
The actual figures have 15% fewer passengers going into London then originally envisaged, and 33% less into other cities.
However, projected growth is implicit in the case for High Speed Rail in the UK. HS2 themselves say in their main report “the assumptions made about growth in demand are critical to the appraisal of any transport project business case”.
It’s important to remember that the £17 billion cost of High Speed Rail does not include the cost of the trains themselves, just the railway line itself.
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