HS2 Action Alliance is a not for profit organisation working with over 70 local community groups, which is challenging the case for the High Speed 2 (HS2) project and working to get Government to take the right decisions.

HS2 is a Government plan to build a high speed rail link. The initial plan is for a high speed railway between London and the West Midland (Birmingham). The second phase will take the high speed rail to Manchester and Leeds (the 'Y') and make connections with existing intercity services.  The initial phase will provide a link to HS1 and, in the second phase, a link to Heathrow.  The total capital cost of both phases (the 'Y' network) is over £30 billion and represents a cost to every family of well over £1000

1. HS2 is a waste of money and wrong priority
2. The business case is flawed
3. HS2 can't cure the North South divide
4. There are better alternatives to improving our railways
5. The environmental case has collapsed

Read more about them here. 

You can also find out about the alternatives at www.betterthanhs2.org

Greening feature article contains shocking revelations on HS2…… Interspersed in Justine Greening’s latest interview is HS2AA’s message on the damming  impact of HS2 compared to the widespread benefits of the alternative.  Our adverts lie at the heart of her interview – literally – covering 2 of the 8-page feature. See the full interview here Justine Greening says of HS2 that she had to put  “ a lot of mental and emotional effort into it to make sure I got it right” and “she looked really robustly at all the alternatives”. We think that these two maps neatly expose that she did not get it right (click each one to get a larger version). What’s more they are based on her department’s own material, and the assumptions are recorded here.

Jerry Marshall's open letter to Justine Greening can be read here

What a difference a new job makes  Latest blog entry, discussing the results of the public consultation on HS2 and Justine Greening's political career, can be read here

HS2AA's response to the Government's decision on HS2- Bruce Weston, director of HS2AA said:  'Justine Greening has just committed each and every household in the UK to pay £1,700 for a railway that is not needed and not wanted'. Read the full response here

AGAHST’s response to Government decision on HS2- Jerry Marshall, Chairman, AGAHST said; 'Justine Greening has said that she would make a rational decision on HS2 and she clearly has not.  If she had taken a cold hard look at HS2 she would see that it is a disaster waiting to happen'.  Read the full response here

Network Rail  betray their prejudice in favour of HS2, as despite not disputing either the capacity the 51m solution provides, nor materially the costs (which are a fraction of HS2), they fail to conclude that it is a better more cost-effective approach than HS2. Network Rail focus particularly on the disruption that it would cause, ignoring the fact that it would be insignificant compared to that from HS2's 8 year rebuild of Euston- aptly described by one expert as ''like open heart surgery on a conscious patient.

Poland becomes the latest country to shelve its plans for high speed railways, and even France looks to focus new expenditures on their existing lines.  Read a full round-up of the position overseas, and in China.

New Year’s Resolutions for Greening. As Justine Greening prepares to give the go-ahead to HS2 in January (despite widespread public opposition), members of Action Groups Against High Speed Two (AGAHST) along with railway expert Chris Stokes, have been giving some thought to what her New Year’s resolutions should be for the UK’s rail network. Read the resolutions...

New YouGov Poll - Nearly two thirds of population opposed to money being spent on HS2. Click here to read our full press release.

• Improvements to existing intercity and commuter lines more important than HS2, say directors
• Directors concerned about value for money
• Larger proportions think that airport capacity increases would improve their productivity

1. HS2 is NOT ‘green’ – it doesn’t fit as part of the low carbon economy
2. HS2 WON’T bridge the North/South divide, or deliver economic benefits
3. HS2 is NOT a sound investment – it’s not value for money
4. A new railway is NOT needed to solve the rail capacity problem
5. HS2 will NOT greatly reduce domestic air travel
6. The UK does NOT need to catch up with Europe – it is still ahead.  Read more about this specific myth here.

For details  Click here, also see our 'Myths' web page.

Campaigners for HS2 have attempted to counter our myths, see our response to them.