HS2, the UK's second high-speed train line after that to the Channel Tunnel, is a totemic project that aims to speed travel between London and some major central English cities, in a country that lags behind its European neighbours. Although the government recently revised down its lofty ambitions for the line, which will now terminate in Birmingham, the project is set to cost billions more than previously estimated. Ben Hopkinson, a policy researcher at Britain Remade, says "the designs are absolutely stunning. But they're going to be very expensive to build". IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES