Dear Editor, I have become an avid reader of the Birmingham Post’s business section.

Since the election bad news stories have been plenty but since the April 20 issue there has been good news all the way.

Yet there are still businessmen who still say HS2 is needed for our economy to recover, High speed rail will boost UK business.

Other media outlets have reported that our local Chambers of Commerce say that their members support HS2 by quoting polls returning 72 per cent to 50 per cent of members in favour. All, they say, look forward to the benefits HS2 will bring to the local economy.

In contrast, however, your May 26 issue reports that Lord Adonis gave the strongest case yet for HS2 but failed to overcome the concerns of some directors in the business sector.

Lord Adonis said that the case for HS2 was not about speed but about capacity, so why, I ask, has the emphasis always been on speed?

Is this a classic case of shooting one’s self in the foot? I have often wondered whether this was a railway to nowhere (based on land mass covered) and these reports do not change my mind.

If it is just capacity we are after then why do leaders of business disregard the good suggestions made by other organisations incorporating West Coast Main Line.

The Lord Adonis article refers to double deck carriages, why not on the WCML?

I agree that to do this, part of the infrastructure of WCML would require modification. However, it is not beyond the will of our engineers to efficiently achieve this.

Virgin has already stated that speeds on the WCML can increase, so options incorporating WCML would surely ensure that further environmental degradation of our countryside is prevented.

It is quite clear that the case for HS2 is confusing to many groups other than those opposing it.

Peter Bray,
Birmingham.