BBC: Image caption HS2, which will link London with Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, has a 50bn price tag.
HS2 is an over-priced, gold-plated project and will fail in many of its objectives, a group of transport experts has warned.
The academics support high-speed rail overall, but say HS2 is five times more expensive than its French equivalent.
They argue that the benefits of HS2 can be achieved much more cheaply, with lower CO2 emissions, and they want their analysis examined by government....