What is HS2 and will it cost the earth? selected academic resources.

The cost of the HS2 high speed rail link has filled the newspapers recently.
But what are the academic facts?

Get started with this basic BBC primer on the route

Basic information and maps of the route can be found on the UK government website
the site also includes reports, legislation and policy documents
The Lord's Economic committee also called for a rethink in may 2019
A government review is ongoing.
A recent report 
 Review of High Speed 2 – Dissenting Report by Lord Tony Berkeley concluded that. "HS2 is the wrong and expensive solution to ‘making it faster and easier to travel for work and leisure2"

In October 2019 the free market think tank Adam Smith Institute called for a rethink
other opponents setting out the case against on economic and social terms are the HS2 Action Alliance who argue any benefits in terms of jobs will be for London not elsewhere.
Stop HS2 has links to other critiques plus polls of the poll against the scheme

Good summaries on the background to the proposals can be found on the House of Commons website.
High Speed 2: the business case, costs and spending is from June 2019 High Speed 2 (HS2) Phase 2a July 2019 provides general information on the proposed high-speed rail line between London and the North of England (HS2). Specifically the West Midlands and Crewe. It gives a brief overview of the scheme, its costs, compensation arrangements and the Bill which would give statutory and planning authority for the construction of Phase 2a of the scheme 

Recent academic articles and discussion on this topic can be found on the Conversation blog
The Engineer also publishes discussion on this topic