Let us get one thing clear. The North of England never asked for HS2, the mega-engineering project that is currently plaguing the British government's efforts to get its finances in order.
As a Northerner myself I never heard anyone call for a high-speed rail link with London. Indeed, in my lifetime, the journey times had improved so much — down to only two hours 10 minutes to Manchester — that they earned praise. No one said they had to be shorter still.
The problem was not the up and down, to and from the capital, but across, from Liverpool to Manchester to Leeds, Sheffield, Hull. That was bad. Added to that, only one cross-country motorway, meant getting around the North as opposed to going to and from London was often nightmarish, even though the distances were short.
Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, said as much recently when he complained about the “chopping and changing” to HS2. Added Burnham: “But we argue it’s not the right solution for Manchester anyway. I think we should have north-south and east-west links but if you pinned me to a wall, I would prioritise cross-northern travel.”
If the “King of the North”, as Burnham is known, thinks that, you have to ask: how did we get to this point, of committing £72 billion ($87.92 billion) to an infrastructure project, Britain’s biggest ever, when even those who ought to be its most strident supporters can’t see the need?
London, in the shape of Westminster, thought it knew best. They determined that the main rail services to Birmingham and the North-West, to Manchester and Liverpool, were going to be full to bursting as Britain moved away from the car. What was required was more frequent, quicker and longer trains. That last need explains part of the reason why HS2 costs so much — new stations and platforms will have to be built as the present ones cannot cope with additional carriages.
There was an element of national pride at play as well. Unlike other European countries — France, Germany, Spain — Britain is not blessed with high-speed trains. Currently, there is one, to the Channel Tunnel. Not having them, it was felt, made the country appear backward. In the race to attract inward investment, particularly for the post-industrial Midlands and North, precisely the areas served by the mooted HS2, this was thought to matter.
Shifting priorities
Britain is not good at delivering major projects on time, to budget. There is something in the national psyche that seems to prevent this. The exact route for HS2 kept shifting, adding to the bill every time. Unlike its European neighbours, Britain is overcrowded, it doesn’t have swathes of empty countryside to play with. Farmland is expensive, as is buying out the properties that will be knocked down to accommodate the new railway.
Environmental campaigners, local Nimbys and their MPs rose up along the planned track, with the result that greater mileage than was intended must now be buried underground in incredibly costly tunnels.
The contracts were designed to apportion risk (on elements like embankments and railway foundations) to the contractor, away from the government. This added to the price, with contractors arguing successfully they were on the hook.
Successive administrations have struggled with Euston Station, the main London rail hub and the intended start of the line. Euston is a concrete eyesore, everyone is agreed. But what should replace it again keeps altering. It also happens to be smack-bang in the middle of just about the most expensive city in the world in which to build.
These factors go towards explaining the ever-rising total. Construction work has started on the first phase of the line, linking London and Birmingham. Already, the opening date has receded, from 2026 to 2029 to 2033. Likewise, the second stage, to Manchester and a shortened eastern leg, was due to launch in 2033 and is now scheduled for between 2035 and 2041.
Britain’s greatest infrastructure mistake in half a century
Andrew Gilligan,
former transport tsar
Meanwhile, Whitehall reviews are examining whether drastic savings can be made, if sections should be scrapped completely or delayed. Consider what that means. Here is a railway that we’ve been assured is vital to the country’s competitiveness going forward. Yet entire parts could be canned or postponed. It’s supposed to be an urgently required boost but where is the urgency if it’s ended or stalled? That suggests it’s not really needed at all.
London to Birmingham will go ahead. But after that, who knows? Options under consideration include ditching the 40-mile line from Birmingham to East Midlands Parkway, near Nottingham. Another is dropping the section north of Crewe and running trains into the centre of Manchester on existing tracks. Another is delaying the opening of the section from Old Oak Common, west London, to Euston.
Ideally, if ministers could choose they would say not to have it all. But seeing as Birmingham is under way and the symbolism of not having anything called HS2 being too humiliating politically to bear, the first phase stays. After that, if they could they would surely drop the lot. The saving, for a national purse that is desperate for every penny at the moment, would be colossal. Andrew Gilligan, the former Downing Street transport special adviser, has said cancelling it would save £3 billion a year by 2027-2028 and £44 billion or higher in total.
Broken promises
The downside would be explaining the decision to the North, the same region that swung behind the Tories at the last election and delivered them victory. If they could be persuaded that at least some of that cash would go on boosting cross-country services, then they might be placated.
Rishi Sunak, whose constituency is in the North, in rural Yorkshire, is thought not to be a fan. He’s struggled to see the benefit versus cost.
Opportunities to pull back or end the scheme, however, have come and gone, not least in the Boris Johnson period in Downing Street. Gilligan, who advised Johnson, is opposed to HS2, calling it “Britain’s greatest infrastructure mistake in half a century”.
While Johnson did terminate plans for a 90-mile stretch from East Midlands Parkway to Leeds (effectively the right arm of the original concept representing the letter Y, with Birmingham in the middle and the left going to Manchester) that was his limit. Johnson, who takes great delight in building things, could not steel himself to go further.
It’s not a white elephant. When it’s completed, the train line will be used. Journey times will be reduced, although only by a matter of minutes; there will be more trains, they will carry more carriages and therefore more seats, and they will be sleek and gleaming and modern.
But it’s a step too far. Sunak should call a halt. And he can be reassured of at least one aspect: whatever is said, the North didn’t want it in the first place.
HS2 activists ordered out of protest tunnels - in pictures
Cricket World Cup League Two
Teams
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Namibia beat Oman by 52 runs
UAE beat Namibia by eight wickets
Fixtures
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Oman
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Ukraine%20exports
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
ENGLAND SQUAD
Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
The%20specs
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If%20you%20go
%3Cp%3EThere%20are%20regular%20flights%20from%20Dubai%20to%20Kathmandu.%20Fares%20with%20Air%20Arabia%20and%20flydubai%20start%20at%20Dh1%2C265.%3Cbr%3EIn%20Kathmandu%2C%20rooms%20at%20the%20Oasis%20Kathmandu%20Hotel%20start%20at%20Dh195%20and%20Dh120%20at%20Hotel%20Ganesh%20Himal.%3Cbr%3EThird%20Rock%20Adventures%20offers%20professionally%20run%20group%20and%20individual%20treks%20and%20tours%20using%20highly%20experienced%20guides%20throughout%20Nepal%2C%20Bhutan%20and%20other%20parts%20of%20the%20Himalayas.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club race card
5pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic (PA) Prestige; Dh110,000; 1,400m
5.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic (PA) Prestige; Dh110,000; 1,400m
6pm: Maiden (PA); Dh80,000; 1,600m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship (PA) Listed; Dh180,000; 1,600m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap; Dh70,000; 2,200m
7.30pm: Handicap (PA); Dh100,000; 2,400m
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
If you go
The flights
Return flights from Dubai to Santiago, via Sao Paolo cost from Dh5,295 with Emirates.
The trip
A five-day trip (not including two days of flight travel) was split between Santiago and in Puerto Varas, with more time spent in the later where excursions were organised by TurisTour.
When to go
The summer months, from December to February are best though there is beauty in each season
The%20specs
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Mental%20health%20support%20in%20the%20UAE
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Result
Crystal Palace 0 Manchester City 2
Man City: Jesus (39), David Silva (41)
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EHigh%20fever%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EIntense%20pain%20behind%20your%20eyes%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESevere%20headache%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ENausea%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EVomiting%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESwollen%20glands%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ERash%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIf%20symptoms%20occur%2C%20they%20usually%20last%20for%20two-seven%20days%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
India squads
T20: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Shivam Dube, Shardul Thakur
Test: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Kat Wightman's tips on how to create zones in large spaces
- Area carpets or rugs are the easiest way to segregate spaces while also unifying them.
- Lighting can help define areas. Try pendant lighting over dining tables, and side and floor lamps in living areas.
- Keep the colour palette the same in a room, but combine different tones and textures in different zone. A common accent colour dotted throughout the space brings it together.
- Don’t be afraid to use furniture to break up the space. For example, if you have a sofa placed in the middle of the room, a console unit behind it will give good punctuation.
- Use a considered collection of prints and artworks that work together to form a cohesive journey.
Meydan race card
6.30pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; (Dirt) 1,200m
7.05pm: Handicap; Dh170,000; (D) 1,200m
7.40pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; (D) 1,900m
8.15pm: Handicap; Dh185,000; (D) 2,000m
8.50pm: Handicap; Dh185,000; (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap; Dh165,000; (D) 2,000m
