IMAGINE this scenario. You are a young, energetic businessman.

You live in a nice big apartment in the centre of Manchester within walking distance of the city’s main railway stations and you have an important meeting in central London.

The question you have to ask yourself is which of three options do you chose get down to the Big Smoke.

Do you fly down, drive down or do you get the train?

In a couple of years, the answer is likely to be self-evident – you get your new, shiny, fast HS2.

You can have a nice gentle stroll to the station and go city centre to city centre in the blink of an eye.

You’ll barely have time to fire up your Macbook Air, connect to the on-board wi-fi and drink your flat white before you are in the metropolis, rubbing shoulders with the Hoxton hipsters.

The benefits are obvious.

But for the rest of us, tell me exactly what are the benefits of a city-to-city high-speed train service that doesn’t stop anywhere near us?

I suggest there won’t be any benefits at all.

What we will get is a load of disruption while the line is built.

Bank Quay station is a 10-minute drive from my home and depending on which train I get, the West Coast Main Line can get me to London in under two hours.

I used to work quite close to Manchester city centre and it could take that long to get from Penketh to Old Trafford in the rush hour.

Why then would I elect to drive to Manchester or the proposed airport HS2 stop when I can get a train just down the road from my house?

The answer, of course, is I wouldn’t.

What does surprise me, though, is Warrington Council’s stance on HS2.

Council leader Terry O’Neill said last week: “The council’s position on HS2 remains unchanged – it favours HS2 connecting London to Manchester via Birmingham, Crewe and Manchester Airport.”

The question I would ask Warrington Council and Cllr O’Neill is why?

Exactly what good does the council believe HS2 will deliver for us? Please tell me. I am genuinely interested because I personally can’t see any good coming from this.

No-one could accuse me of being an eco-warrior but I genuinely believe the so-called economic benefits are vastly outweighed by the environmental damage that will inevitably be caused.

I’m all in favour of new infrastructure but HS2 strikes me as nothing more than a very expensive vanity project.

And it’s not just me who thinks like this. Remarkably, it seems my views are shared by none other than Esther McVey, MP for Tatton and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

She told a public meeting in her constituency: “What exactly is the problem we are solving with HS2? And what might have seemed like the right solution in 2010 – is that still the right solution in 2030?

“We need services across the north and we don’t want that broken down by high-speed railway to London, we need services across the north to come first.”

Well said Ms McVey. Of course she said all that before she became a member of the cabinet. I wonder what she’d say today if asked.

In a way, we are lucky in Warrington with the town being served by both east-west and north-south main lines. But anyone travelling on peak time trains in any direction to and from town will know it is not a pleasant experience.

Some of the rolling stock looks like it would be more at home being pulled by Thomas the Tank Engine and count yourself very fortunate if you can actually get a seat.

If there are billions of pounds floating round for transport, I would suggest there are other ways it could be spent.

Full electrification seems to be a must, especially for the lines over the Pennines.

And how about a proper service between all the major towns and cities of the north...did someone say Northern Powerhouse?