By Philippe Blanchard

The territory of the University of Warwick should be split in a few years by the HS2, a High speed train that will join London to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. Political, economic and media elites at national level widely support the project. “The new railway will be an engine for economic growth. HS2 will generate jobs and help rebalance the economy between north and south”. An analogous quasi-consensus enabled the French TGV to join Lyon, Marseille, Nantes and Strasbourg to Paris since the 1980s. Similarly, the main oppositions to high speed in France came from future neighbours of the new rail track, afraid of losing their view and quietness. This is what the central platform of opponents, supported by the Labor Party, translated into the formula: “No business case, No environmental case, No money to pay for it”. Opponents make themselves more relevant and acceptable…