Economic benefits of HS2 ‘could be far greater than thought’

Bridget Rosewell, a transport economist and director of Network Rail, told the Conservative Party conference that the £15bn-a-year boost to the British economy calculated by consultants KPMG in a landmark report last month had significantly underestimated the benefits of HS2.

The KPMG report concluded that building HS2 will increase the size of the economy by £1bn a year in West Yorkshire alone.

But speaking at a fringe event, Ms Rosewell said KPMG’s analysis had only accounted for existing businesses being able to operate more efficiently – and not the way they will also be able to link up with new customers up and down the country. “The estimates that we’ve got are all about productivity benefits,” she said.

“But they are just about shifting things from one place to another. They’re not about creating anything new.

“If we take the KPMG £15bn, my guess is that we can add at least 25 per cent to that on how market access creates new growth that we haven’t thought about.”

The report by KPMG was commissioned by the Government as Ministers battle to convince the public that building a new North-South railway line is essential for the nation’s future despite controversy over its cost.

Ms Rosewell, however, was dismissive of the suggestion from opponents of HS2 that Britain can no longer afford to build a new railway following the economic crash.

“Of course we can afford it,” she told delegates. “We are the fifth or sixth-largest economy in the world.”

[email protected]