Rail transport High-speed 3? These mega-projects are the quack remedies of modern politics Simon Jenkins Simon Jenkins George Osborne's high-speed rail line across the Pennines is a pipedream. He should free northern cities to build their own head of steam -- * Share via Email Joe_Magee illustration for Simon Jenkins piece on the folly of HS3 [ ] 'New railways have become a totem of caring infrastructure despite -- Oxford) was completed so long before the M11 (to Cambridge), the reply was simple: "It's been years since Transport had a permanent secretary from Cambridge." Ask why the London to Manchester HS2 is so close to the heart of the chancellor of the exchequer while the trans-Pennine "high-speed 3" is a mere pipedream, you need only look at a map. One runs from London to George Osborne's Cheshire constituency; the other runs east from Manchester into here-be-dragons territory and West -- the cash. He doesn't know the meaning of austerity so long as a project is in the south. Show him a London Crossrail, a London Olympics, a London garden bridge or an HS2 to London and his pockets overflow. An empty council flat may appal him, but an empty first-class carriage into Euston is just a quiet ride home. -- train from Liverpool to Leeds and three hours to Hull is absurd. That doesn't mean a new "high-speed train". The real Pennine lifeline is the M62, and its congested state is a disgrace. It makes even the M1 and M4 look like Silverstone on race day. The A roads along the Aire -- – like moths to a light. The Treasury, once a stern judge of such projects, has become their uncritical lapdog. It builds Crossrail 1 rather than the more sensible Crossrail 2; HS2 rather than the more sensible east coast route from the north to HS1; it subsidises trains where coaches are more affordable; and it backs garden cities that increase commuting pressure instead of urban renewal; and it supports two universities in every city where one would do. A new high-speed railway across the Pennines would apparently cost £7bn, roughly what Osborne wanted to spend getting his HS2 in London from Wormwood Scrubs to St Pancras. The St Pancras part of this link, to HS1, has now been abandoned. This means the government is proposing two high-speed lines, neither of which will run through to the continental high-speed network – transport planning at its daftest. No railwayman believes HS3 will ever be built. High-speed trains are for countries with long distances and straight tracks between stops. Across the Pennines will always be winding, and the energy cost of -- from Manchester to Leeds is poor value for money against upgrading existing track, for which there is already a £600m "northern hub" plan. Meanwhile, Osborne still wants to blow £50bn (probably far more) on HS2 to ease the lot of rush-hour commuters into Euston. Lobbyists, the media and consultants love these adventures in public spending. The headlines are big and the upfront fees huge. The projects are rarely economic and starve more productive investments of cash. It is hard to avoid the judgment that Osborne's "HS3" is for the election, not for real. -- * George Osborne calls for new Manchester to Leeds high-speed rail The chancellor said the project would enable the north to 'take on the world' Published: 23 Jun 2014 George Osborne calls for new Manchester to Leeds high-speed rail * -- * Osborne's speech calling for Manchester to Leeds high-speed rail: Politics live blog Andrew Sparrow's rolling coverage of all the day's political developments as they happen, including George Osborne's speech calling for a Manchester to Leeds high-speed rail line Published: 23 Jun 2014 Osborne's speech calling for Manchester to Leeds high-speed rail: Politics live blog -- + The north needs more than a high-speed train line, George Karel Williams Published: 23 Jun 2014 Published: 23 Jun 2014 The north needs more than a high-speed train line, George +