HS1 to London,
HS2 to Crewe.
HS3 to Grimsby,
HS4 to Bodmin moor.
HS5 to Inverclyde.
HS6 to Aberystwyth.
And Crossrail must not fail.

But this is not just part of the ‘silly season’ in political news, it also has an element of logic. In that, with the first British section of the European high speed rail network coming into operation very soon, further expansion would not just provide better connections between large cities, but also both relieve population pressures in the southeast and facilitate economic development elsewhere.