Fairdealfrank - show me the HS2 or DfT documents that big up the time savings as the reason for the project.
You seem to be confusing journos who have dumbed down the project and focused on the speed and are ignoring what those involved in the project are saying.
For once this country is looking ahead, the capacity issue that everyone agrees is coming (other than you Fairdealfrank - even the anti's do not argue that case) and plans are put in place to avoid the WCML running out of capacity.
Reports have been done by Network Rail, a shed loads of consultants, the DfT, HS2 and all come back showing the most effective way to resolve those capacity issues is new tracks.
So, if you build new tracks do you build them at high or low speed if the price is very similar.
Anyway, I await with interest these reports from the DfT or HS2 showing that this is all about speed and not capacity, I may have quite some wait though.
Edit - the DfT economic case for HS2...
http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publication...sal-update.pdf
Almost all of what is based on extra capacity to avoid the problems that
are coming down the line in the next 20 odd years if nothing is done.