I'm agnostic on this rail line (though its existence may increase chances of a shinkansen derivative running in the UK). The Guardian's Simon Jenkin's take on the project:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jun/07/hs2-the-zombie-train-that-refuses-to-die
*I didn't know the WCML was underutilized (i.e. Euston being used at 60% of capacity in the AM peak, etc.)