THE future of HS2, the high-speed railway planned to link London with the Midlands and the north of England, is now in doubt.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt are reported ready to at least delay the construction of key parts of the already-reduced route, above all the link north of Birmingham to Manchester, the project’s Phase Two.

The case for HS2 was seldom properly explained. It is far less about shaving a few minutes off journey times from Birmingham to London than about expanding railway capacity.