Transport Crucible . com

Ardent rail fan Christian Wolmar is perhaps an unlikely critic of the Tory plan to build a High-Speed rail link, HS2, between London and Leeds – instead of a third runway between London Heathrow Airport and the rest of the world. But Christian says “the environmental case for high speed lines is far from proven”, in his Guardian article here. Theresa Villiers, the shadow transport secretary, gave the Heathrow expansion melting pot a good stir at the party conference yesterday by saying a Conservative government would scrap the plan for a 3rd runway that Labour said was a “done deal” according to a Times article last week. The Tory move is seen by some as David Cameron’s “boldest move on the environment”, and Villiers is reported to have said: “This is a seriously green decision.” TC notes however that Wolmar is not alone in airing doubts over the economic and practical sense of choosing this way to go. Interestingly for Theresa and the Tories, the CBI chief David Lambert says, HS2 may have “a lot going for it, but don’t think for a minute that it will solve the capacity problems at Heathrow [where] we need to have a third runway… as long as all the environmental conditions are met.” Go here for the latest Times article, and watch this space for sparks in the next round…