NOW that he has been appointed deputy chairman of the Government's Review of HS2, it is worth revisiting Lord Berkeley's opinions on the project. He wrote last year to every MP suggesting that either the additional costs for HS2 would have to be found or the whole scheme should be cancelled, and the money instead put into smaller schemes and focused on the North. But he also suggested a third way - reducing HS2's specification from "vanity to capacity", as he put it. This would entail building a line from Old Oak Common in west London to Crewe only (that is to say, Phases 1 and 2a only), and scrapping all HS2 lines going into city centres. He would also have Handsacre Junction (where Phase 1 meets Phase 2a) removed from the project, and top speeds reduced from 360kph/400kph to 320kph (200mph). The latter alone, he claimed, would save 30% to 40% of the capital cost.
展开▼
机译：现在，他已被任命为政府对HS2的审查的副主席，值得重新审视伯克利勋爵对该项目的意见。他去年写信给每位国会议员，暗示要么必须找到HS2的额外成本，要么应该取消整个计划，然后将钱投入较小的计划中，并集中在北方。但是他还提出了第三种方法-如他所说，将HS2的规格从“虚荣降为容量”。这将需要建立一条从伦敦西部的Old Oak Common到Crewe的线路（也就是说，仅阶段1和2a），并废弃所有进入市中心的HS2线路。他还将从项目中删除Handacre Junction（第1阶段与第2a阶段相遇），并将最高时速从360kph / 400kph降低到320kph（200mph）。他声称，仅后者一项就可以节省30％到40％的资本成本。
展开▼
