The proposed high speed rail link  between London and the north is getting bogged down in controversy  nationwide – but a Huddersfield transport expert says it would be a tragedy if  the plan was dropped altogether.

Criticism is mounting against the proposed  HS2 after it was revealed that costs are  spiralling,  hundreds of acres of green-belt land  will be lost and more than 1,000 buildings are to  be demolished.

The results came from an in-depth assessment  of the environmental impact of the HS2 route  from London to Manchester and Leeds.

Kirklees councillor and railway expert Paul  Salveson said he treated the HS2 route with  ‘cautious criticism’ and feels that its economic  benefits for the north have been exaggerated.

He remains an advocate of high speed railway  but has concerns over its speed and how it will  connect with local services.

“The way it has been conceived leaves quite a  lot of questions,” he said. “It should go to  Scotland but it’s going to take 20 years or so to  get to Leeds and Manchester. My concern is that  it will also suck investment away from the local  networks. We still have trains running in and out  of Huddersfield that are 30 years old and we  should be investing in modern trains now.

“Why do we have to have trains on the HS2  line that can go at 400km an hour? We are a  smaller country than France and Germany and  they don’t go those speeds there. How would  they connect with local services and also if you  can travel from Leeds to London in an hour why  would businesses in London bother with a  branch office in Leeds? The current proposal  could actually end up taking investment away  from the north.”

Railway expert Paul Salveson
Paul Salveson

He added: “There needs to be far more  discussions about HS2 and a scheme that will  really benefit the north. We desperately need  investment up here now.”

The high-speed rail link supporters say it will  bring tens of thousands of jobs to the north by  slashing journey times from London to Birmingham in the first phase, then Manchester and  Leeds in the second.

But critics have claimed that HS2’s business  case does not stack up and opposition to the  project is building in Westminster with doubts  voiced recently by a number of senior figures.

Earlier this month ministers revised up the  scheme’s projected cost from £33bn to £42bn.

Thousands of properties within a mile of the  route have already been blighted even though  construction of the line is not set to begin until  2017.