Off The Rails

‘A jaunty account of a monumental cock-up. Makes the unbelievable readable.’

‘A forensic, gripping analysis of the mother of all government blunders which shines an unforgiving light on the structural weakness of the British state.‘ 

‘Who is responsible for the shaming catastrophe that is HS2? The answer, says Sally Gimson, in her penetrating, fair and ultimately furious exploration of how the landmark high-speed rail project failed, is a cast list of the British state.’

‘Sally Gimson has done the public a great service by setting out clearly and succinctly the chronology of woolly thinking that has led to the current debacle… This is a story of equal-opportunities failure to which every part of the British establishment has contributed… Read this book with a stiff drink.’

‘A pacy, readable and infuriating account of how what started as a bold vision of the future crumbled into an embarrassing failure. Gimson cuts through the noise to offer a clear-eyed and vital explanation of mistakes we must learn from.’

‘The story of HS2 is a reflection on the failings of the British state not of simply one project or organisation. Neither those against or those of us for it have won – everyone has lost, and this book tells the story of how and why that happened.’

Sally Gimson began her career in journalism working for the Observer and Sunday Telegraph. She was also a producer in Berlin for Deutsche Welle TV news. She stood as a parliamentary candidate for the Labour Party in 2010. She is a contributor to Index on Censorship magazine and has written articles about people and politics for the New Statesman and Guardian.