SCOTTISH Ministers seemed wrong-footed when it emerged that their boasts about bringing forward a high-speed rail link between Glasgow and Edinburgh turned out to be a case of premature exultation.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said originally that Scotland would not have to wait until the UK Government finally approved a plan for a cross-Border rail link route that hooks up with its much-vaunted “HS2” programme. The Scottish Government would be "firing ahead" with its own plans, delivering the scheme by 2024, at least 10 years ahead of the mooted cross-border service.

It was left to Transport Minister Derek McKay to confirm last week that in fact the Glasgow-Edinburgh route could not go ahead until firmer details of the cross-border link emerge. A new paper is to be published soon.

So what is it with politicians and big shiny rail projects? Is anyone out there aware of any public clamour to get from Glasgow to Edinburgh 10 minutes or so more quickly than our train schedules tell us it takes right now? There is precious little evidence that arriving in Queen Street or Waverley stations more quickly will have an astonishing effect on the economy, galvanising industry and greasing the wheels of commerce to such an extent that we might all retire a year earlier thanks to our fast-growing economy.

The same can be said of HS2. Many viewed George Osborne’s enthusiasm for a quicker line from London to Birmingham with scepticism. As the Chancellor imposed austerity budgets, this seemed a diversionary tactic similar to exclaiming: “Look, a squirrel!”

Since then – being Member of Parliament for a north of England constituency – Mr Osborne extended HS2 within a vote-chasing campaign for a “Northern Powerhouse”, a phrase that could mean absolutely anything at all to northerners.

Millions have been spent on HS2, and its senior management, before a metre of track is laid. It almost seems rude to question the cost, as the time predicted for completion continues to move back. The TaxPayers Alliance, always there with a ready quote, condemns the excesses of HS2 Ltd as “the high speed gravy train”.

It is safe to say that if HS2 is ever completed, it will take longer and cost more than Mr Osborne believes it will. Already, his constituents in Tatton will wait 20 years at least before enjoying an HS2 ride to London. It is also safe to predict that by the time HS2 is ever complete, the Chancellor may be ensconced in the House of Lords, on the board of a high-falutin international bank; or – as like his predecessor Lord Darling – both.

Transport policy in the UK has for years usually meant building more roads. New roads, faster roads, roads that go round places, and broader roads. The big 1980s’ project, the London orbital M25, is to be enlarged now. The A8 is finally to become the M8, nearly 50 years late.

Politicians are seduced by transport initiatives. Rarely do they question whether big infrastructure projects are justified, or if they can be integrated with each other. Faced with a crisis, they often see the opportunity to “talk up” a project whose completion will come long after they have left office. Thousands of jobs will be promised, of course, and the economic boom times to be achieved simply because Brummies can commute more quickly to London, or Glaswegians to the Edinburgh Festival, will seem immense.

The world has many grandiose and often vainglorious infrastructure projects. Brazil will make extravagant claims for the impact of this year’s FIFA World Cup, just like umpteen cities have done with the Olympics. Somewhere, somehow, consultants will find some suitably-massaged figures that demonstrate every pound spent might attract a squillion more.

Such hubris was once the domain of kings and potentates. Visit Peterhof in Russia or the Palace of Versailles to witness wonderful structures and extravagances whose patrons cared not a jot about Net Present Value calculations or Cost Benefit Appraisals. Look at many of Roosevelt’s 1930s’ New Deal projects and we can appreciate that infrastructure spending can indeed dig an economy out of a big hole.

Today’s patrons, politicians and parliaments, know they have the consultants and civil servants who can conjure up just about any such calculation to justify spending. The public debt accumulated from the “build today – pay forever more” fantasies of PFI / PPI is in the tens of billions, with a long way to being paid off.

Conversely, some of us might have been happy with a reliable train service that turns up, treats us well, and gets us across Scotland’s rail network in good time.