Commenting on the high speed rail (HS2) project for the Sheffield City Region

11th September 2013

Commenting on the high speed rail (HS2) project for the Sheffield City Region, Tim Hale, chairman of Champion Hire Ltd and chair of Sheffield Chamber's Transport Forum, said: -As long as the economic conditions for its success are being met or exceeded, then HS2 is clearly a logical thing for the country to undertake.

That being the case, Sheffield must have a station. From this standpoint, Sheffield Chamber of Commerce supports HS2. -Should the detailed technical or economic arguments for the case change, then our assessment will obviously need to be reviewed. -I think the work done to integrate HS1 with the historic St Pancras station, demonstrates that Britain can successfully combine the old with the new. From a world standpoint, Britain is such a geographically small country that the relatively short distances involved from London to Scotland, should be easy to deal with. -If Britain wants to compete in the global economy of the 21st Century, we need a modern, fast rail system, just like we need other communication methods such as excellent airports, good roads and superfast broadband. -Looking back, can you imagine what London would be like now without the Underground or developments in the north without the M1 and the M6 motorways? Projects never seem as expensive when you look back and High Speed Rail seems a logical step for the UK to take.