The HS2 go-ahead leaves Heathrow's third runway up in the air | Nils Pratley

Few of the arguments which won the day for a high-speed rail project apply to the airport expansion. It's never been easier to bin itIn the end, two arguments, both with a flavour of despair, flicked the light to green for HS2. First, ?9bn has been spent on the ?100bn-ish project already. Second, the official Oakervee report endorsed the HS2's lobbyists' cry that there are no "shovel ready" alternatives to add rail capacity.The latter factor represents a disgraceful failure of planning by the Department for Transport. Successive ministers were bewitched by HS2 and didn't bother to explore rival schemes in case the costs exploded, as they inevitably did. Faced with shouts from the construction industry that builders will go bust if deprived of their HS2 bonanza, Boris Johnson took the easy political route. Continue reading...