Benefits of Hs2/Hs3 Plan
The UK’s government plan to build a railway that connects Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds will have many benefits to the north and the rest of the country as well. First, transportation will be improved by the inception of the high-speed train, which cuts down on the time taken to travel from Leeds to Manchester from 55 minutes to 26 minutes (Structures Congress et al., 2012). The economic sector will thus be improved due to the reduced transportation time and cost. The high-speed transportation network will play a big role in transporting goods from the north to other great cities in England including Birmingham. Furthermore, the building of a high speed rail creates more jobs for the residents of the north.
Opening up the north will facilitate the exploitation of resources that will help to build the economy (Mike Kelly, 2014). Flow of modern technology and spillover effects from the economic transformation brought about by the new initiative is crucial in formulating policies that will govern business enterprises that come about as a result of this big development. Lastly, the north will reap the benefits of having a competitive market economy where knowledge and technology will be shared.
Drawbacks of Hs2/Hs3 Railway Plan
The budgeted money for this project is not adequate to meet the standards of a high speed railway network. This means that the local communities will have to pay more tax to cater for the cost of the project (Mike Green, 2014). Project cost is estimated to be at 150 or 175 pounds per mile. Moreover, hs2 project has no plan, real budget, and route. This makes the entire initiative a futile plan to commit funds and resources to since it lacks the physical touch and thus the investors may be unwilling to invest (Bräuer, 2012).
There is local protest to this project by some locals from the surrounding communities and their leaders. This drags the development and continuity of the project, an action that may lead to the reduction of freight for investors who may have committed their money for the Hs2 initiative. Knowledge –based firms brought about by the introduction of high-speed train comes with high technology crimes (British Broadcasting Corporation, 2014). Exploitation of the north resources wills destabilizes the north in the sense that those company from outside will exploit local businesses at their own advantage.
References
Bräuer, M. (2012). The “New Detroit” in Central Eastern Europe- Analysis of the Hungarian and Slovenian automotive industry. Antwerpen.
British Broadcasting Corporation. (2014, October 27). David Cameron backs ‘HS3’ rail link for north of England – BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-29779134
Mike Green. (2014, October 28). Opinion: We need HS2 and HS3 to benefit the north. Retrieved from http://www.libdemvoice.org/opinion-we-need-hs2-and-hs3-to-benefit-the-north-43095.html
Mike Kelly. (2014, October 27). HS3 rail link: North East boosted by Government’s latest plans for HS2 and HS3 – Chronicle Live. Retrieved from http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/hs3-rail-link-north-east-8002078
Structures Congress, Carrato, J., Burns, J. G., American Society of Civil Engineers, Structural Engineering Institute, & Analysis and Computation Specialty Conference. (2012). Structures Congress 2012: Proceedings of the 2012 Structures Congress : March 29-31, 2012, Chicago, Illinois. Reston, VA: American Society of Civil Engineers.