New Secretary of State for Transport – write to her opposing HS2

1. I would have thought the way the pro hs2 seem to say how there are so many that want hs2, that there would be more to back you up.
   Instead we have a load of blustering from just a small few.If you look at the fact persentage wise those representing for( i’ll round it up to 500)
   those against 102,000
   more than a slight difference
   Morris and yes i can count i just hadnt checked recently because it was growing so slowly.We have a petition to make people aware what is happening .I can ask the same of your petition.Our first petition has grown by 2,000 since the debate which makes the For amount even more puny the time it has been running for.

2. Let see if this is allowed – I hope the government will not turn a deaf ear to the countless people in favour of building HS2.

   • No need to worry morris. The issue is one of subtlety and complexity and in such issues its easiest to derive concensus on simplistic representations – which the pro HS2 case basically is. It will be approved and legally challenged for years and ultimately waste a lot of money. Its 30 years too late and the Chinese cant believe we are doing this………..but they are willing to help out with the contracts. Brilliant.

     Upgrade the exitsing network, get a network of hydrogen fuel stations, improve refional train provision and deal with the capacity issue before 2025.

     • That sums up stophs2 fi and when hs2 is proved you are going to waste money on making legal challenges which will you know will be pointless but you will have to make them. so save your lawns and back yards – Lets see if this is allowed too –

       • Morris you are a real magical combination of delusional and assuming. You said when hs2 is proven. So in other words you admit it is not.

         Please view expert opinion on the subject, presented in the face of political bias here:

         http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/house_of_commons/newsid_9517000/9517256.stm

         • Nameless will you admite that whenl HS2 get the go ahead you not going to waste money on making a legal challenge.

           • For me it depends what the merits of the legal challenge are and what the final route and compensation scheme look like. Like it or not there is still an enormous amount of work to be done even if the scheme gets the green light in December. How could and why would anyone agree not to challenge it at this point?

       • You have a very one sided view of what HS2 opposition looks like. HS2 (If God forbid it goes ahead) will not be at the bottom of my garden or in my back yard. I oppopse this crazy scheme on the basis of common sense, we can’t afford it, it gives no proven benefits and how can any Government do this on the one hand whilst cutting away at public services on othe other. How will those people who lose their jobs feel to see a railway being built they will be unable to afford.

   • Morris if there are countless people for hs2 why are there less than 200 signatures on there petition?

     • Sorry there are 453 not many more than i said.

       • Elaine – can you count you at stophs2 ONLY JUST got over the 100,000 will all the public crying in the press. So why do the pro hs2 need a pentition anyway?.

         • One hundred and ten thousand seems to me to be way in excess of 400 odd – and the pro lobby has been extremely active – glossy stands at the the party conferences, big (offensive) advertising campaigns, even Professor Begg – he of the Edinburgh tram disaster – lending his great knowledge and expertise in the field on large transport infrastructure projects. And despite this you’ve only got a measly 450 signatories to the yes to hs2 petition.

           It seems to me that you have answered your own question re why a yes petition is required. You would never have had a backbench debate in the Commons with that risible number ….

           • only 100800 and about 17k online. Pro hs2 have been extremely active in showing prople the REAL information about Hs2 and not the myths. Yes you got a debate but what good was it, not a lot

           • Morris says “only 100800 and about 17k online. Pro hs2 have been extremely active in showing prople the REAL information about Hs2 and not the myths. Yes you got a debate but what good was it, not a lot”

             So good to have you back Morris – your convoluted logic continues to cheer me up!

             As an aside I note that “only” (your word) 100,000 signatories triggered a Commons debate about an EU Referendum – and stirred up a lot of debate inside and outside of the Mother of Parliaments. So, the petitions do have an effect. And as to your final sentence: should that not read “Yes, WE (pros and cons) got a debate”? It was not just one sided was it – or did you not want to hear both sides of the argument?

       • Elaine , it is 456 now. They’ve had a good day.

3. Doubtless this government will turn a deaf ear to the countless people opposed to this folly. Benefits to the elderly and infirm, the NHS, free non religious education, children centres and so on are being sacrificed whilst at the same time bilions are being wasted on a project designed to benefit the few at the expense of the many.

   No less important, if not more, is the invironmental vandalism that will take place should HS2 go ahead. Flying to Britain from a trip abroad will stir the heart of all but the most insensitive as we see our shores becoming nearer and nearer. There is no more beautiful a land anywhere else in spite of the efforts of greedy developers and hiddeous motorways made to appease the Jeremy Clarksons of this world. Forests of ancient oaks, beech, birch and rolling meadows surrounding silver rivers winding their way to and from the coast. The fauna is equaly precious and delicate.

   The destruction of our land must be stopped and HS2 is part of this destruction.

4. I don’t aim to blind anyone with science. I don’t care much what anyone’s motives are, so long as they ditch HS2. If the Queens is really, as rumoured, against HS2 because it would frighten the horses, fine.

   From : Julius Hogben,35A Beethoven Street,London W10 4LG

   Dear Ms Greening,

   I am a pensioner who has lived for 34 years at one end of little Beethoven Street in north Westminster. The cycle-past shooting 2 weeks ago was at the other end of my street, 120 metres away. I also live directly above the projected tunnel route of HS2.

   At first glance, that looks like an irrelevant coincidence. It is not.

   There are determined schemes hereabouts to approach the problem of disaffected youth and gangs. But that’s not enough, nor is it enough to imprison thousands of rioting miscreants. At a time of ominously increasing youth unemployment, is the Government going to put forward multi-million-pound large-scale plans to tackle the hopelessness, aimlessness and often wanton savagery of large numbers of our youth and even children ?

   A framework of National Civil (non-military) Conscription, for example, would involve community work, education, apprenticeships. It would reduce the appalling illiteracy and innumeracy amongst school-leavers. It would get off their bums those young people on JSA who alas are not even trying for jobs. It would magnify community spirit. It has the potential to make ‘the big society’ acquire meaning, as it has failed to do.

   Or is the Government going to spend £30-40-50 billions of our money – the cost is rising daily –on the HS2 project, a woolly scheme which has been analysed in exhaustive detail by economists and railway experts ? The UK can’t afford this.

   There are far better and cheaper alternatives to HS2. Intercity trains are going faster and faster. Even our Conservative Westminster City Council, whilst going with the general idea of high speed trains, has concluded that the DfT has not in any respect whatever justified the London route.

   1500+ local people have already signed our local petition against HS2.

   Very very many times that number would instantly sign in favour of Government youth projects.

   I hope that you will do your utmost to see that the HS2 project is set aside, and to see that our money is better spent on essential youth projects.

   Sincerely,

   Julius Hogben, Chair, Stop the Tunnel, north Westminster residents and businesses against HS2

   • URGENT ! I LEFT OUR “STOP THE TUNNEL – NORTH WESTMINSTER AGAINST HS2” banner with the other banners outside when I went in to hear the debate on 13th Oct. When I came out, all the banners had gone. Has someone got it safe ?

     If so, who ? I’ll come and collect.

     JuliusHogben@Talktalk.net

5. Dear Ms Greening MP,
   Firstly I would like to congratulate you on your new appointment, be it under the sad circumstances surrounding Dr Fox.
   I am writing to you today in opposition of the proposed High Speed Rail line (HS2), on the grounds that it is the wrong technological choice, environmentally damaging, and simply wrong for Britain.
   The technology I favour is that of Magnetic Levitation (Maglev). However, in the 2007 whitepaper, the previous government rejected the technology under the grounds that it was too expensive.
   I know this to be untrue, as I have read the whitepaper and can see that the authors of the report have misquoted the figures from UK Ultraspeed, and then went on to double those figures unjustly.
   But, I believe, the technology of Magnetic Levitation is very important to factor into any modern transport infrastructure, as it lays waste to the claim that HS2 utilises the latest technology.
   It is very interesting to compare Japan with Britain, as Japanese Shinkansen will surely run on HS2, as they do HS1.
   While we in Britain considering building a high speed railway, the Japanese are building the Chūō Shinkansen, an ultraspeed Maglev line, it seems the Japanese are always one generation ahead of us in terms of their thinking and technology.
   The Chūō Shinkansen is of particular interest as the timeframe for construction is similar to that of HS2; also laying waste to the claim the HS2 will be the fastest railway in the world.
   However, HS2 will have one claim to fame, that is that it will be one of the most expensive railway in the world, more so even the exaggerated Maglev costing from the whitepaper.
   It is my belief that HS2 is nothing but an expensive railway that will be an embarrassment to the country, and should not be built.
   Your website states: “The new Government has announced that it has scrapped the last Government’s plans for the third runway at Heathrow, as promised before the election. This announcement is really fantastic news for us and will help protect our local quality of life.”
   I trust you won’t be putting a lower status on the “quality of life” of those living near the planned route than your own constituency.
   It has also come to my attention that a high speed link between Heathrow and Gatwick airports is to be built, I would like to ask is the technology of Magnetic Levitation to be considered for the link?
   In a letter dated the 2nd of February, HS2 Ltd themselves wrote to me saying that “Maglev is best suited for the movement of people at high speeds between two distinct locations, such as an out-of-town airport and a city centre.”
   It would seem that even HS2 Ltd would agree with me that Maglev is ideal for such a Heathrow-Gatwick link.
   I wonder if you would also agree with me on this matter.
   I hope that this letter finds you well, and I look forward to your reply

6. Dear Ms Greening.

   Congratulations on your new job. I saw your name translated into Spanish on a website. Justine Greening came out as Justine ecológico.

   I hope that you can live up to your name and put carbon reduction and environmental issues at the top of the agenda in the DOT, especially with regards to high speed rail.

   A 400kph railway has serious implications for energy consumption because very high speeds require disproportionately greater energy use which is difficult to reconcile with the UK’s carbon reduction targets.

   The environmental impact of the route is exacerbated by a 400kph design speed which requires a virtually straight alignment that carves through the landscape. It’s hard to imagine a more environmentally destructive alignment than that selected through the tranquil Misbourne Valley.

   We hear a lot of talk about being the greenest government ever but governments are judged on what they do, not on what they say. Actions speak louder than words. Now that you are in a position to do something about it, I urge you to challenge the need for trains to travel at 400kph.

   Yours sincerely

   Finmere

7. Here is a copy of my email to Ms Greening:-

   Dear Ms Greening

   Firstly, congratulations on your appointment to Transport.

   I was interested to read your biography on the Conservatives Website, especially the following paragraph:-

   “Justine’s experience in business means that she knows how to get things done. Justine understands how important listening to local residents is. If any company ignored its customers and increased its cost base as much as Labour have ignored people and increased their taxes, shareholders would sack the directors! Justine believes taxpayers deserve just as much consideration, choice, and care with their money!”

   As a retired industrial manager and chief executive, I entirely agree with and am heartened by the sentiments expressed.

   I therefore trust that you will examine the case for and against HS2 with the rigour required to justify the expenditure of some £32,000,000,000 of taxpayers’ money in order to save 20 minutes journey time between London and Birmingham, especially as one of the main the arguments for put by your predecessor included the value to businessmen of the time saved, totally ignoring the fact that modern communications enable them to use the whole journey productively for email and even video conferencing (my son does that all the time, the train being an electronic extension of his office!).

   I also urge you in order to get a balanced view, to have a careful look at the following websites which contain a wealth of expert assessments of the case:-

   http://www.stophs2.org http://www.hs2aa.org/ and http://www.voxopp.org.uk/ to mention but three.

   The other argument put forward, this time by no less than David Cameron, is that the HS network will eliminate the North-South divide, whereas common-sense and many examples elsewhere demonstrate the opposite, in that improving the communications between a large city and smaller ones, drag business and talent to the big one at the expense of the smaller. Can you envisage an exodus of entrepreneurs and businessmen from London to, say, Leeds? Even your predecessor’s own figures demonstrated that of the expected 70,000 new jobs created by HS2, 40,000 would be in London (how he arrived at these figures is uncertain, especially some 15 years ahead!) (In fact all the estimates produced by your new department are based on highly speculative and optimistic assumptions.)

   I should greatly welcome your comments.

   Yours sincerely

   Janusz Rawicz-Szczerbo (Conservative Party Member)

8. Finally got rid of him, fantastic!

9. Pingback: STOP HS2 | New Secretary of State for Transport – write to her … « Nowoczesne przeprowadzki

10. Justine Greening’s website states: “The new Government has announced that it has scrapped the last Government’s plans for the third runway at Heathrow, as promised before the election. This announcement is really fantastic news for us and will help protect our local quality of life.”

    I truse she won’t be putting a lower status on the “quality of life” of those living near the planned route than the lives of those in her own back yard.

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