Exposing the lies & bullshit dispensed by HS2 & its deluded fan club. Retired Chartered Civil Engineer. Transport Planner. #BlockedbyAdonis. Likes rail
Joined July 2017
- Tweets 42,329
- Following 740
- Followers 1,333
- Likes 36,287
5,125 Photos and videos
Pinned Tweet
4 Nov 2020
The HS2 trolls come out to claim HS2 is Green. Not one of them has ever come up with a justification for designing a railway for 250mph. It's the major factor why it is so expensive & so destructive. The carbon deficit of its construction & width needed is greater than a motorway
4 Nov 2020
Can #HS2 opponents please RT this and show it to anyone who still argues for it?
15
85
107
John Marriott ππππ² retweeted
and here it is... a guide for local councillors concerned about greenfield development in their local area.
Our other reports are on the same page too.
communityplanningalliance.orβ¦
Starmer's back out moaning about 'blockers' again. So we're going to help councils to get blocking. There is simply no need to build on an inch of green space... Keep an eye out here for our NEW councillor toolkit, coming very soon! @CommunityPlann1
2
30
40
1,318
John Marriott ππππ² retweeted
24 Jul 2025
The Ministerial Code by which all government ministers must comply can make interesting reading.
"It is of paramount importance that ministers give accurate and truthful information to Parliament, correcting any inadvertent error at the earliest opportunity. Ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to the Prime Minister."
67
331
799
18,225
John Marriott ππππ² retweeted
If you're really serious about dumping billions of pounds worth of unsustainable development in England's bread basket, then it's clear the powerful opposition to the #OxCamArc needs to be urgently revived.
Meanwhile, how about some alternatives?
tinyurl.com/2j5hvsfh
1
4
11
244
I expect @NationalHways would say this M1 motorway diverge is "to standards". It has finally collected the inevitable vehicle. How was this launching ramp not spotted by NH years ago. Compare with other countries to see how it should be done.
77
John Marriott ππππ² retweeted
The key word is network: not the odd bike "lane" with white line paint. @TransportActio2 @bristol_citizen @Glutenfreescone @peteraf1 @HereforHereford @MastermanDavies @CityVoicEd @CommunityPlann1
βThe most effective approach is to build a network and built it as quickly as possible.
But bike lanes alone do not make a network. In Dutch cities up to two thirds of the network is in mixed, low-traffic conditions, where the bike is the dominant mode.β
wiseair.vision/en/blog/pensaβ¦
1
7
13
325
John Marriott ππππ² retweeted
Operative word is "system" : joining key origins/destinations across the city and modal change points. Not the usual UK single route going no where? @HS2theTruth @ceritheviking @LizzieBushby @TransportActio2 @BrentToderian @bristol_citizen @martr101 @HS2DeadDuck @HereforHereford
1
2
62
ft.com/content/1de07a1c-613fβ¦
@FinancialTimes This is garbage. The additional cost added by changes rightly made through the Parliamentary process was not very significant. The problem was the process itself which did not scrutinise the principle or science first. It used whipped MPs.
3
4
49
John Marriott ππππ² retweeted
May 31
Backhanders and corruption into the pockets of decision making politicians and their supporting advisors must clearly be at play within current UK decision making.
1
1
41
John Marriott ππππ² retweeted
So, doesn't Reeves know that this is the most expensive (and socially divisive) way of going about things; or does she know, but doesn't care?
Either way this should disqualify her, and others with this mind set, from any role in our Government.
Jun 2
Reeves examines using private sector funds to build new towns.
It is PFI renamed as public-private partnerships (PPP).
The state guarantees corporate profits. Β£1 investment results in Β£6 repayment.
Cheaper for govt to borrow. It can issue public bonds.
theguardian.com/society/2026β¦
3
9
17
444
John Marriott ππππ² retweeted
Not on run upto phase 2a bill they didn't
DfT - Grayling, Ghani & Kelly knew HS2 was Β£30bn ove declared Β£56bn budget months before bill passed but 'carefully' did not tell parliament.
Kelly & Ghani misled parliament on industrial scale. Ghani even rebuked MPs over costs
1
1
3
57
John Marriott ππππ² retweeted
May 20
(1) The usual disingenuous analysis from Britain Remade/Britain Robbed by corporate lobbyists. As the Lovegrove Review makes clear, the βgold platingβ that doomed the project wasnβt environmental, but gold plating of the concept of highest possible speed.
May 20
No one is saying the Β£125m bat tunnel alone is the reason HS2 costs north of Β£100bn. But, along with HS2 specific big issues (route, speed), it is a perfect example of a system wide problem. Gold plating, process over outcomes, legal risk and delay increase costs at each stage
7
14
25
3,325
John Marriott ππππ² retweeted
May 20
Lord Hendy scathing to Transport Committee on original plans for HS2 - astonishing planned to use a signalling system that hadnβt been invented. Wild: βyou donβt want to be the first people in the world to be using new techβ .. cheaper to keep going with civil engineering
9
5
33
6,125
John Marriott ππππ² retweeted
May 19
Today it seem appropriate to repeat this - '125 Miles Per Hour On A 70 Miles Per Hour System' stevenboxall.wordpress.com/2β¦ It seems that HS2 lacked the thinking and thought that a Nationalised Industry had.
8
5
19
14,795
John Marriott ππππ² retweeted
May 19
#HS2 was a cross party political project. MPs were whipped to vote it through with many not even looking at the shocking lack of detail in the original plan or understanding that the case had not been properly made.
@Labour @Heidi_Labour
1
3
9
230
John Marriott ππππ² retweeted
May 20
1/The people shamelessly lobbying for more HS2 (under new names) are always suspiciously silent on bad news days
2/ #HS2 ltd are in charge of multi billion Northern Powerhouse rail.
History is about to repeat
7
8
177
John Marriott ππππ² retweeted
May 19
It was reported that Mark Thurston former #HS2 ltd CEO earned Β£617,300 in salary in 2021/22, with added benefits worth Β£5,400, making him at one point the highest-paid public servant in the UK. He left HS2 in a mess and then went to work for a water company.
1
7
9
284
John Marriott ππππ² retweeted
May 19
#hs2 "will unlock tube-level frequency across a number of local lines" in #Birmingham, apparently.
Um, how? For starters, how do these "tube-frequency" trains get into or out of Birmingham New Street?
#Unhinged #ZeroProbabilityEvents
1
1
4
485
John Marriott ππππ² retweeted
May 17
#HS2 is a scandal. To date nobody has been held responsible either politicians or execs for any of the failures that have become this Β£100billion pound money mountain. There ought to be an inquiry.
thetimes.com/uk/politics/artβ¦
2
17
26
466
John Marriott ππππ² retweeted
May 15
The amount of taxpayers' money squandered on the HS2 spur into Birmingham is absolutely staggering. Worse still, it would've been far more convenient for passengers if trains had run along existing lines into New Street. #HS2
May 14
Tallest bridge along the HS2 network finishes construction railadvent.co.uk/2026/05/tal⦠#birmingham #BirminghamNewStreet #hs2 #lichfield #LichfieldTrentValley #london #midlands #WestMidlands
8
14
39
2,444
John Marriott ππππ² retweeted
May 10
The transport advisor to Andy Street was an #HS2 vested interest. No surprise what his advice was.
newcivilengineer.com/latest/β¦
3
5
7
325