THE Prime Minister's father-in-law has renewed his attack on the Government's HS2 high-speed rail project.
Viscount Astor has been a staunch opponent of the plans and last night used a debate in the House of Lords to attack the business case for the new line.
Samantha Cameron's stepfather said Government claims for the £33 billion line – which would initially link London and Birmingham and eventually Manchester and Leeds – rested on Department of Transport figures of rising railway use.
However, the department's record in projecting future passenger numbers was "not good", he said, warning the number of users on HS1 – from London to the Channel Tunnel – were overestimated three-fold.
Lord Astor told peers: "The projected benefits are largely dependent on business use and business use is changing. Why travel when Skype and internet conferencing is now the norm.
"The benefit-cost ratio for phase one has, by the Government's own admission, declined from 2.4 in March 2010 to 1.4 in January 2012 and to 1.2 in April."
He said there was "no evidence" HS2 was going to cut road usage and added: "By 2032 electric cars could be driving themselves on main routes, as has been already tested in America."
Lord Astor called for an upgrade of existing lines which could be achieved "at a fraction of the cost".
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