The proposed high-speed rail link (HS2) from London to Midlands due for completion in 2026, with a possible extension further north to Manchester and Leeds by 2033, will be built despite environmental opposition.

Although the government final decision is good news for rail freight, the Rail Freight Group (RFG) and the Freight Transport Association worry about funds being diverted from existing freight paths.

“Rail freight demands a fair share of any capacity created by HS2 on the existing network,” said FTA executive Christopher Snelling, noting that the link will only have one indirect benefit to freight. UK container traffic was up 56 per cent in the past eight years with many shippers choosing rail over road.

The GBP33 billion (US$50.61 billion) project will reduce overall train times to around 45-50 minutes, freeing capacity on other rail paths, particularly the west coast main line.

Although environmental benefits are clear in the removal of short-haul flights and longer train times the non-monetised aspects of the high speed rail – land, carbon and changes in land use – were not given enough consideration, say the UK Countryside Alliance.

“People who will feel these impacts most acutely are not being given a fair hearing,” it said, according to London’s International Freighting Weekly, which added that previous criticism characterised the HS2 as a “political vanity project”.

Prime Minister’s David Cameron’s father-in-law, Lord Astor criticised the government for wasting money on commuter transport when more people could work from home. “Have they not heard of Skype and the internet?” he told BBC News.

DB Schenker Rail head Alain Thauvette believes the government investment is a sign of its commitment to developing rail infrastructure through its Strategic Rail Freight Network.

“This investment will deliver wider benefits as it provides additional capacity for rail freight growth on the west coast main Line, the major route of consumption and production in the UK,” he added.

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