00:00The HS2 rail project is facing yet further disruption, with a potential delay pushing completion back beyond 2033.
00:10Originally planned to link London with the Midlands, Manchester and Leeds, now the northern sections have been cancelled, for the time being at least.
00:20But the high-speed railway network will only connect London to the Midlands, and even that is expected to be delayed further, with the Transport Secretary preparing to announce a revised timeline.
00:36HS2 once promised a more connected Britain, but now many are asking, is it just a fast train to nowhere?
00:43Well, what do Londoners actually think?
00:45Well, I think it's been very badly managed, as far as I can understand, being exceeded its budget.
00:55I'm not happy with the way it's torn up the countryside at all.
01:00But having gone that far, I'm not happy that they cut the next bit, because that would have made more sense.
01:07So it seems to me a typical case of sort of doing things by halves, really.
01:12Yeah, I think they should have started in the north.
01:15I've gone down to Birmingham from the north, because I've got the train from Birmingham to London quite a few times.
01:23It's a very good service.
01:25Didn't really see why they needed it to start here.
01:29I would have preferred it personally if there'd been no HS2, just, you know, faster trains.
01:35But I just think it's a huge infrastructure project that wasn't kind of thought out properly.
01:41But there we are.
01:43Brilliant.
01:43It'd be brilliant.
01:44We should use the railways more anyway for goods and transport, etc., rather than on the roads.
01:49So, yeah.
01:50Oh, yeah.
01:51100%.
01:51100%.
01:52I think it would connect the country more.
01:54It would 100% connect the people more.
01:56More people could travel in and out daily.
01:58And that would, like, I think somehow that would better the living situation as well.
02:05Because, first of all, the commuting would be less expensive.
02:09And then just around London, there'll be more spaces to rent or to own.
02:14No, I think trains are definitely the way forward, you know, especially with climate change.
02:19It's just, like, it's just everything is done by half.
02:24So, you know, having decided to do the HS2, then it should have been done properly.
02:30And then not, you know, it's going to be expensive.
02:32But then, like, successive governments changed their mind.
02:35And then, you know, SUNAC got rid of, you know, put the brakes on.
02:40And, yeah, I mean, some of the trains seem to work very well, you know, East Coast Line and, you know, Virgin.
02:50And so, I do think, you know, the whole way the railways are run is a different thing again.
