HS2 ‘will be obsolete by the time it is built’

Founder of The Yorkshire Mafia, Yorkshire businessman Geoff Shepherd has claimed that new technologies will render the need for high-speed rail projects obsolete by the time they are completed.

Geoff Shepherd, managing director of iSource Group and a long-standing opponent of HS2, said reduced journey times would not render any substantive benefits for northern businesses.

“In a world where digital is becoming more integrated into our daily lives, I predict that by the time HS2 is finally built – in some 18 years – unless we adopt new travel and transport technologies, we will no longer be as reliant on passenger transport and that HS2 (and HS3) will be outdated before the first journey is made.”