It is also increasingly likely that the London terminus of the high-speed rail-link will be Old Oak Common, six miles west of Euston, as originally planned. If Sunak proceeds on this basis, HS2 will amount to no more than a 140-mile connection between two inconveniently situated stations in London and Birmingham.
It is not hard to see why a fiscal conservative such as Sunak is fretful. Estimated to cost £32 billion in 2009, HS2 is now heading towards a total cost more than three times that original figure. Time to slam on the brakes, surely? How can a financially straitened nation possibly afford to pursue such a plan? Look at the whole board and you will see that we cannot possibly afford not to. The weakest argument for proceeding as originally planned is the so-called "sunk-cost fallacy": namely, that one should not abandon a strategy that has already consumed significant resources.
Denne historien er fra September 26, 2023-utgaven av Evening Standard.
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Denne historien er fra September 26, 2023-utgaven av Evening Standard.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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