Why HS2?

The HS2 (High Speed 2) is a really expensive (~100 billion GBP) rail project in the UK to build a new line connecting London to Birmingham, and eventually to other cities further North like Manchester and Leeds. The project has been controversial due to high costs and the impression that all it will do is shave off a few minutes of travel time from London to Birmingham. This article explains why the HS2 is badly named – the major benefit of the new line isn't speed, it's capacity.