Boris goes big on transport

Many people on this side of the pond have conflated Boris Johnson’s election victory in the UK with the horror show we are living through here.  True, Johnson has adopted some pretty unsavory election tactics and governing measures.  But his overall approach to government is very different from what we have here. For one thing, he is seriously pursuing policies to “level up” the British rust belt towns in the north of the country, many of whose “left behind” folks voted for him out of frustration and despair.  This is not just talk, but actual major investments, especially in transportation.

In recent days, Johnson has committed the country to building a controversial high-speed rail route between London and Birmingham and then further north.  This “HS2” project – which is estimated to cost well north of $100 Billion – has attracted criticism for its high cost and for slashing a scar across the bucolic English countryside.  I could certainly criticize elements of its design, but it will still make a dramatic change in surface transportation in Britain (see a good summary story here, the project website here).  The fastest train travel time between London and Birmingham will be cut from 1 hour 22 minutes down to 45 minutes.  London to Manchester will be reduced by a whole hour: from 2 hours 7 minutes to 1 hour 7 minutes.  Major capacity will be freed up for both passenger and freight traffic on the existing mainlines.  Rail travel can replace air travel for many trips inside Britain.  All of these factors will provide a major boost to the government’s efforts to address the climate crisis – and yes the Johnson government is doing that too.

Of course, a project this big will take years to build, with the first partial services scheduled to open in 2028.  At least partly for the purpose of balancing this enormous investment in one corridor with attention to other parts of the country, Johnson has also pledged a £5 Billion ($6.5 Billion) investment in buses over the next 5 years (story here), and £1 Billion ($1.3 Billion) in bicycle and pedestrian projects (story here).

Whatever political benefits the government is hoping to gain, I’m happy to see them investing in high quality, modern, green transportation as a way of seeking them!