The Audio Long Read ‘We hate it. It’s desecration’: the real cost of HS2
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Feb 2, 2026 A retraced journey along the HS2 route reveals construction's visible footprint on landscapes and communities. Locals describe prolonged disruption from lorries, roadworks and closed footpaths. Engineering choices and spiraled costs are examined alongside environmental trade-offs like tree felling and bat protections. Farmers and homeowners share stories of paperwork, compensation delays and lives upended.
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Straight Alignment Drives Major Engineering
- Building HS2 requires complex civil engineering because high-speed alignment must be very straight.
- That leads to many viaducts, tunnels and huge earthworks that widen the project's environmental and social footprint.
Local Anger At New Viaducts
- Barkham visits the Colne Valley viaduct and hears local anti-HS2 graffiti and anger.
- He records residents calling the project criminals and desecration, showing intense local opposition.
Ambition Scaled Back Over Time
- HS2's original ambition (London–Birmingham in 49 minutes and further north) has been scaled back significantly.
- Cuts to the network and reduced speeds shifted the rationale toward capacity rather than speed.