Better to compare to France then. They build high speed lines for between 1/5th and 1/20th of the cost of the one the UK is building. Just to prempt the France

Better to compare to France then. They build high speed lines for between 1/5th and 1/20th of the cost of the one the UK is building. Just to prempt the France is flat and land is cheap arguments. 1/5th is the cost of the section of line between Lyon and Marseille that crosses the Massif Central with 50 tunnels and bridges and plenty of earthworks. The cost of land acquisition is only £8bn of the £100bn+ cost of HS2.