BUSINESS leaders have brushed off new criticism of the planned high-speed rail line, which will run through part of Notts.
Spending watchdog the National Audit Office said yesterday that the Government had not made a clear case for the High Speed 2 (HS2) line and warned that its timetable for getting the first phase of the project moving was "over-ambitious".
But the leaders of the Chamber of Commerce and the local enterprise partnership for Notts say the risk of delays on such a major project mean that, if anything, the start of building work should be brought forward.
Ian Greenaway, the President of the Derbyshire and Notts Chamber of Commerce, said: "We would argue that the criticisms by the National Audit Office actually strengthen the case for bringing phase two forward.
"It can't be a stop-start process as unnecessary delays will threaten the overall economic benefit of the project."
The new HS2 line – which will include a station at Toton Sidings – will cost over £30 billion to build and is expected to be ready by 2032.
It will take people from the new station at Toton to London in 51 minutes.
The National Audit Office report examined how the Government had built the case just for the first phase of HS2, which takes a line from London to Birmingham.
It said Government had not put forward a strong argument for transforming rail capacity, while the link between more trains and regional economic growth was unclear.
But the report also said that the full HS2 network – which adds in the proposed line through Notts – "has a stronger economic case".
David Ralph, the chief executive of D2N2, the local enterprise partnership for Notts and Derbyshire, said: "The benefits-to-cost ratio is significantly higher for the second phase, which will see trains running north of Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester, passing through the East Midlands.
"It will service the UK and create jobs in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, as well as accelerate economic growth. It will also increase connectivity for residents, workers and visitors to key cities and communities."
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin dismissed the criticisms contained in the National Audit Office report, saying they were based on data which the Department of Transport was no longer relying on.
Nottingham South MP Lilian Greenwood, who is shadow rail minister, said it was "deeply worrying" that the National Audit Office believed Government was failing to get a vital project right.
She added: "More and more people want to travel by train and the new high-speed rail line will provide the extra capacity needed."
