The UK is exposing very little of its workforce to great tunnelling projects, because very little of HS2 is about tunnelling, and most of the rest of the technology is being bought in anyway.

This repeats an old pattern. The UK used to have a nationalised rail system with world-class R&D. The R&D was effectively given away when the system was privatised, and then the technology was bought in when it was needed later - from foreign companies which were now charging the UK for IP it had developed at home.

Even if that weren't true, the UK would be competing in a tiny space with even larger projects - like the Brenner Base Tunnel, which is currently burrowing through 55km of solid rock under the Alps.

The reality is there is very little real payback in terms of jobs and future opportunities - certainly much less than spending the money on world class broadband infrastructure and technology training.

The infuriating thing about HS2 is that it's basically just pork for party donors dressed up as a strategic and patriotic wonder - because the ruling class just can't deal with the fact that the 19th century is over.

Meanwhile the strategic areas the UK is actually a significant player in - including plenty of science and technology, and not a little engineering, but also the arts, finance, and law - are being starved of investment, opportunity, and effective management.