HS2

[Brigadier]

I'll throw a spanner in the works & mention summat my semi-tame rail buff insists is true.

Our railways have NEVER been financially viable in their own right. Not even in the hey days of frenzied building & Victorian travel. They have ALWAYS relied upon subsidies in one form or another.

Not everything has to be profitable* in its own right.
As long as it facilitates something (or somethings) else that offers an overall nett surplus, it has served its purpose.

Trouble though is, especially with the inept-but-rapacious Bombay shoitehawks that we're saddled with, those desperately clinging to the helm of HMS UK (heading towards submarine status), is that monetary profit is everything.

If it makes money and they can rinse it for their mates; brilliant.
If it doesn't make money, they can argue that it should be privatised: they can then rinse it for their mates, AND use it as a stick to beat Labour with.
A double win.




*profitable doesn't have to be in monetary terms; it can be of benefit to society, international standing, humanitarian purposes, etc.

 

[Brigadier]

Concorde is/was the classic vanity project which was first initiated by people who weren't qualified by success but somehow ended up in a position where they called the shots.

If you sat down with a piece of paper on day one, & jotted down all the figures you could think of, then the project could never make a financial success when you added them all up.

Concorde would make a shoite-ton of money nowadays; a lot of people with tons of money.

Not just the traditional high-power business people either; knobhead "influencers" and footballers, off for the afternoon on a jetski in Barbados. All for the "likes".

The market is there.

 

[Mottie]

You always say the economy will improve soon, don't you?

I don’t remember saying 'soon' unless it’s been tongue in cheek. I’ve always said I didn’t expect to see any major benefits immediately after Brexit due to spite and anger from the EU and that’s the actual 2020 Brexit date, not the 2016 referendum date. I expect things to be substantially better after a period of time, say 5-10 years once things have settled down and business has necessitated adaptations on both sides. Covid and the war have obviously affected that timeframe for the UK, just as they have affected many other countries in Europe.

 

[fillyboy]

I don’t remember saying 'soon' unless it’s been tongue in cheek. I’ve always said I didn’t expect to see any major benefits immediately after Brexit due to spite and anger from the EU and that’s the actual 2020 Brexit date, not the 2016 referendum date. I expect things to be substantially better after a period of time, say 5-10 years once things have settled down and business has necessitated adaptations on both sides. Covid and the war have obviously affected that timeframe for the UK, just as they have affected many other countries in Europe.

As bad as things are, we are doing better than much of the Eurozone.

 

[Notch7]

The question is not whether HS2 should be done or not……

The question should be “why is it so forking expensive”

“Britain overpays for transport infrastructure. On a per-mile basis, HS2 is the world’s most expensive railway under construction costing more than twice as similar projects elsewhere. Madrid was able to build an entire metro-system for £4bn, it cost us £18bn to build Crossrail – more than ten times more on a per mile basis”

Faster, cheaper and better transport

Britons are forced to endure long, unpredictable, congested and expensive commutes if they want to access the best local jobs. We need to build more, but the UK has some of the highest infrastructure costs in the world. The Elizabeth Line took 23 years to build at a cost of £19 billion. By...

www.britainremade.co.uk

I’m sure some of it is due to our planning laws:
the environmental impact report for Sizewell C was 44,000 pages long

and the judicial review said they weren’t happy, it wasn’t thorough enough

 

[gant]

Employment laws deserve a mention.

 

[Notch7]

As bad as things are, we are doing better than much of the Eurozone.

We really are not

this country is in a terrible state, for the worlds 6th largest economy the standard of living, public services, state pension, infrastructure etc etc is in a terrible state.

 

[Brigadier]

As bad as things are, we are doing better than much of the Eurozone.

We always were: it's just that our "better" is now sh! tter than it was.

 

[gant]

We really are not

this country is in a terrible state, for the worlds 6th largest economy the standard of living, public services, state pension, infrastructure etc etc is in a terrible state.

I agree, that's the legacy of being ruled by the eu for nigh on 40 years.

 

[carmanmemoranda]

I agree, that's the legacy of being ruled by the eu for nigh on 40 years.

Oh not another baseless claim?

Justify it

 

[gant]

Oh not another baseless claim?

Justify it

Not much point, you just act silly when questions get a bit awkward for you, so you've took yourself out of the equation.

 

[carmanmemoranda]

Not much point, you just act silly when questions get a bit awkward for you, so you've took yourself out of the equation.

Exactly the same as you.

Told you before. Give it out, expect it back. If you don't like it, don't do it.

 

[gant]

Luv it.

 

[carmanmemoranda]

Not much point, you just act silly when questions get a bit awkward for you, so you've took yourself out of the equation.

Never ever, have you actually justified any of your comments. You just repeat little mantra's like "get brexit done", it doesn't mean anything unless you put the meat on the bone.

 

[gant]

Hark at him.