HS2 project condemned by MPs

In a scathing attack MPs have criticised the government's plans for HS2 - the High speed rail line linking the East Midlands with London and the North.

The reports findings say that as the costs continue to spiral the proposed economic benefits for cities like Nottingham, Derby and Leicester are fading. Our political correspondent Alison Mackenzie reports.

MPs have criticised the government's plans for HS2 - the new high speed rail line that'll link the Midlands with London and the north. They say costs keep going up - but the benefits of HS2 aren't clear. Phil Hornby reports.

Margaret Hodge MP, Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, has said the economic justification for HS2 is "very questionable".

It comes as the Committee of Public Accounts issued a withering assessment of the HS2 high-speed rail project, warning costs were spiralling whilst benefits were dwindling.

The Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, said the case for the £50 billion project was "absolutely clear," as rail routes would be "overwhelmed" by rising passenger numbers.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has rejected the findings of the Commons public accounts committee, which criticised the costs and benefits of the HS2 high-speed rail network.

Read: Public spending watchdog attacks HS2 rail project

Mr McLoughlin said the case for the £50 billion project was "absolutely clear," as rail routes would be "overwhelmed" by rising passenger numbers. He said:

"The project will free up vital space on our railways for passengers and freight, generate hundreds of thousands of jobs and deliver better connections between our towns and cities.

"HS2 is a vital part of our plan to give Britain the transport infrastructure it needs to compete.

MPs from the Commons public accounts committee have called for the Department of Transport to provide more detailed evidence to support the estimated £50 billion investment. Presenting the committee's findings, chairperson Marget Hodge said:

The Commons public accounts committee has issued a withering assessment of the HS2 high-speed rail project, warning costs were spiralling whilst benefits were dwindling.

The committee said the case for the £50 billion project was based on "fragile numbers, out-of-date data and assumptions which do not reflect real life" with no evidence it would aid regional economies not simply "suck" even more activity into London.

It has demanded an urgent explanation of how quickly the Department of Transport could plug the "significant" gaps in the commercial and major project expertise in its teams.

More: Business chiefs slam HS2 'folly'

A protest march against the proposed HS2 trainline has been held in South Staffordshire.

People from the Colton and Kings Bromley areas walked ten miles of where the high speed railway line is planned to travel, carrying 73 balloons to represent the estimated £73 billion cost.

John Sadler, from the Kings Bromley Stop HS2 campaign group, said it would cause "devastation" to the countryside.

People in South Staffordshire opposed to the HS2 train line are staging a protest march today.

Villagers from the Colton area, near Rugeley, will be walking a ten mile route carrying 73 balloons, representing the £73 billion figure quoted recently as estimated rail line costs rise.

The same group of protesters recently hired a crane to demonstrate the height of a proposed embankment near to their homes.