2026-02-02
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We hate it.
It's desecration.
The real cost of HS2 by Patrick Barkham, read by Dermott Daly.
Ten years ago, I walked the route of HS2,
the 140-mile railway proposed to run from London to Birmingham to discover what lay in its path.
Nothing had actually been constructed of this,
supposedly the first phase of a high-speed line going north.
The only trace was the furtive ecological consultants mapping newts and bats,
and the trains looming presence in the minds of those who lived along the route.
For many, it was a Westminster vanity project,
symbolising a country run against the interests of the many to line the pockets of the few.
People whose homes were under threat of demolition were petitioning parliament,
campaigning for more tunnels or hoping the project would collapse before their farms,
paddocks and ancient woodlands were wiped out.
The line, we were told a decade ago, would be completed by 2026.