HS2: The most unsurprising news.

[JohnD]

HS2.

See also "similar threads" below.

 

[motorbiking]

Is there anyone left who thinks £70bn was a good price to pay ?

Support for High Speed Rail HS2

Do you support or oppose plans to build a new High Speed rail line linking London, Birmingham and Manchester?

yougov.co.uk

 

[carmanmemoranda]

Is there anyone left who thinks £70bn was a good price to pay ?

Support for High Speed Rail HS2

Do you support or oppose plans to build a new High Speed rail line linking London, Birmingham and Manchester?

yougov.co.uk

Was it ever a good idea though? I was never a supporter of it.

More trains, more often, to more places was always a better idea than a few fast trains to a few places

 

[SirGalahad]

Is there anyone left who thinks £70bn was a good price to pay ?

Support for High Speed Rail HS2

Do you support or oppose plans to build a new High Speed rail line linking London, Birmingham and Manchester?

yougov.co.uk

It got to £70bn because of the constant delays and prices only go one way.

Well spaffing £20bn on PPE for your mates is acceptable.

 

[motorbiking]

For me the whole idea of trains needs a rethink.

It should be possible to have a pod like system where you enter your destination and the system optimises the route based on everyone’s needs and tells you to go to pod number x where the pod is full of others who want to go from trumpton to camberwick except it stops at chigley to pick up those who want to go chigley to camberwick.

 

[carmanmemoranda]

For me the whole idea of trains needs a rethink.

It should be possible to have a pod like system where you enter your destination and the system optimises the route based on everyone’s needs and tells you to go to pod number x where the pod is full of others who want to go from trumpton to camberwick except it stops at chigley to pick up those who want to go chigley to camberwick.

We can't even build a train line from London to manchester

 

[motorbiking]

That nobody wants.

 

[carmanmemoranda]

That nobody wants.

Correct. But it's a fairly straightforward route and plan

 

[diy_fun_uk]

As others have said, HS2 would most likely have been completed in full had they started construction in the north and worked their way down.

Saw a news prog the other night with extracts from some report into HS2, some of the findings beggar belief. Talk about planned on the back of a fag packet.

Although there's always a valid debate around 'cut your losses', I wonder how much has been spent on the bits that will never be built. Not just referring to construction, I'm referring to everything related to the project.

China, HSR 2007
Spain, AVE 1992
France, TGV 1981
Japan, Bullet train 1964

UK, HS2 ... well part of it hopefully ... 2029 - 2033?

Mind you as I said before, we've no room to talk in Scotland. We can't even get 2 x new ferries out on time or budget!

 

[gant]

Lots and lots of tunnels involved (one 9 miles long) health and safety and diversity legislation costs added more fuel to the fire.

 

[carmanmemoranda]

Lots and lots of tunnels involved (one 9 miles long) health and safety and diversity legislation costs added more fuel to the fire.

Problem with health and safety ?

Do you really think diversity legislation costs added much ?

More about compulsory purchase of land and moving money to the right people

 

[motorbiking]

Land is very expensive in our over crowded small country. We also have 60% of the people live in 30% of the land.

 

[ellal]

HS2 was about one thing and one thing only...

'Rewarding' large companies for political donations...

AKA corruption!

Let's face it, what has a 20 minute reduction in 'travel time' got to do with 'leveling up'?

And who would be able to afford the fares anyway?

Better to invest the money in local transport...

This is just corporate governance at it's worst!

 

[motorbiking]

So everyone is happy.

 

[SirGalahad]

Land is very expensive in our over crowded small country. We also have 60% of the people live in 30% of the land.

What level should be population be at then?