HS2 high-speed London-Birmingham route rail project - discussion

[r0bb0]

Once all the old infrastructure is ripped out and replaced from Euston to Milton Keynes ,and a running HS2 both ways , you could then extend the network like these guys..
MOTC finalizes route for high speed rail extension to Pingtung
HS2 is a rich toy train set from the age of austerity that's got out of hand!
I"m no expert on HS, I know they hire them 10 a penny. It might be impossible

Edit to say Euston to Milton Keynes was the first station.stop on route to Brum

I think you might want to look at how high speed rail works for that one.

 

[teuchter]

I"m no expert on HS

This is the only bit of your last few posts that makes the slightest bit of sense.

 

[Teaboy]

They should just get on and build this now. Its been a shit show so far but so much money has been spent and its essentially all sorted they just need to give the green light. They're going to be starting the dig at Old Oak Common in the summer and once that starts they'll be no going back. Anyway Johnson historically loves a big infrastructure project. Get it built.*





*In the spirit of full disclosure I feel I should declare an interest in that this project which will likely mean millions for my company and given its my area will be a nice earner for me. Obviously I'm above all that and am judging the project on its merits alone.

 

[r0bb0]

I feel this unfair, I hi-lited the fact that:
HS2 won't travel you to Manchester for £44
Eurostar doesn't work for people on budgets and they'd rather fly,
Out of austerity come's this project
Ryan air doesn't want the route
...

This is the only bit of your last few posts that makes the slightest bit of sense.

 

[teuchter]

There will almost certainly be cheap advance fares to places like manchester. Not sure what the relevance of Eurostar or Ryanair is.

 

[Crispy]

HS2 will replace the current long distance services to its major destinations, with the older trains greeting more stops. Current off peak advance ticket for Manchester is £25. HS2 will be priced similarly.

 

[redsquirrel]

You want to buy a bridge Crispy?

Sorry but the above is naive as fuck.

 

[teuchter]

It's the setup on every other European network's HS services. They are usually where the cheapest advance fares are. They tend to be in competition with the airlines.

 

[Crispy]

1st class and walk-up fares will continue to be expensive, but HS2 is a step change in capacity. They will want to fill every train, which means cheap advance tickets. Happy to make a server fund bet

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Southeastern runs the only high speed service at the moment and they do charge a premium for it.

 

[teuchter]

And they sell cheap advance tickets on off peak high speed services that are much lower price than the walk up fares on either the high speed or regular services.

 

[editor]

Interesting piece here:

The impact is vanishingly tiny. It’s expected that less than 0.01% of ancient woodland will be affected by Phase 1 of HS2 (London to Leeds/Manchester). Of course, that’s not good for the trees that are affected, but if you were to be really concerned about preserving ancient woodland, would you be attacking HS2, or, for example the Lower Thames Crossing — a new motorway tunnel under the Thames which has a huge impact for its modest size.

From an environmental perspective, isn’t it a bit odd that a railway is getting more protests than a motorway extension?

While it’s good that we live in a country where the environmental lobby is listened to, and can rightly affect outcomes, a lot of the anti-HS2 argument is sadly misdirected. If your main goal is to reduce carbon emissions, which is a good thing to strive for, then of all the things to target as bad, HS2 is so far down the list as to barely register on them.

HS2 is the least bad way of getting people from one part of the country to the other. Unless we literally ban people from traveling, then it is important that the journey causes as little damage to the environment as possible.

Given the choice between electric powered trains, or petrol based road, or even worse, air travel, railways are by far and away the least damaging option for getting around the country.

People shouldn’t be criticizing HS2, but championing it as an exciting forward thinking environmentally enlightened project.

The misguided environmental protests against HS2

 

[farmerbarleymow]

I see the argument being made there, but in an ideal world ancient woodland should be left to its devices given how much we have lost over the years. A railway or motorway can be re-routed to ensure none of it is lost.

 

[alex_]

I see the argument being made there, but in an ideal world ancient woodland should be left to its devices given how much we have lost over the years. A railway or motorway can be re-routed to ensure none of it is lost.

great idea - hs2 doesn’t cost enough already - let’s make it cost more.

follow this argument through and you end up with hs2 cancelled and more motorway.

Alex

 

[pseudonarcissus]

I see the argument being made there, but in an ideal world ancient woodland should be left to its devices given how much we have lost over the years. A railway or motorway can be re-routed to ensure none of it is lost.

How long does it take for new, managed, woodland to be as biodiverse as ancient woodland? (Serious question)

 

[farmerbarleymow]

follow this argument through and you end up with hs2 cancelled and more motorway.

Cancel both then. Biodiversity is essential, and transport is a secondary consideration in the great scheme of things.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

How long does it take for new, managed, woodland to be as biodiverse as ancient woodland? (Serious question)

I don't know, but I imagine it is more than a few years for newly planted woodland.

 

[pseudonarcissus]

Cancel both then. Biodiversity is essential, and transport is a secondary consideration in the great scheme of things.

Can’t we have the railway and close the M6?

 

[pseudonarcissus]

Can’t we have the railway and close the M6?

Sorry, rewild the M6

 

[r0bb0]

Dispatches says HS2 will turn Brum into a Northern Suburbs for London, sucking people into das capital!
Read 'gunslinger' & 'amtrak wars' which had futuristic train concepts ,yeah they worked last century. Is it the way to go in East Timor?
Know airlines aren't going to change aviation fuel anytime soon. You have to train in a specialist field , be good at your job and be part of an international R&D commitment , that doesn't really exist.

 

[r0bb0]

Love rewilding

 

[r0bb0]

Ryan air didn't want the route

 

[cybershot]

Why are using viaducts in rural areas and not just using the ground?

Common Design Elements - HS2

www.hs2.org.uk

 

[Chilli.s]

lets face it, the country can't even run an ordinary rail system effectively. There's no possibility whatsoever for hs2 coming in anywhere near budget and efficiency targets.

 

[skyscraper101]

Why are using viaducts in rural areas and not just using the ground?

View attachment 196259

Common Design Elements - HS2

www.hs2.org.uk

I imagine it makes sense for loads of engineering reasons, but my first thought was it allows animals to walk under the tracks and less chance of other stuff getting on the line.

The views I imagine would be pretty good too from higher up.

 

[Teaboy]

It'll be for areas where the lines are going through marshy areas or wetlands etc. Places where the ground cannot support the weight. In other areas they are piling the track, this is less invasive.

 

[BigTom]

Curzon St station (Birmingham) update. Not actually bothered to watch this myself so I hope it's got something interesting in it!

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

It's PR guff basically

 

[Chilli.s]

It's PR guff basically

Yeah, in real life all those poor cunts are wondering about worrying about their cancelled train and what they are going to do to get home.

 

[AnandLeo]

The latest projected cost of HS2 with extensions to Manchester and Leeds is forecast £106 billion. A northern MP says it is not value for money, and he wants to increase passenger capacity of trains from north to London, instead of the HS2.

The recommendation of the latest review is to build the phase 1 of HS2 from London to Birmingham. I think the call to increase the passenger capacity of existing rail system is cost effective, efficient, and makes economic sense.

Victorians built railways from private funds of shareholders. There was a boom in private sector railways until the arrival of motorways and the car ownership. Now the railways have to compete with budget airlines. HS2 high-speed rail is an excellent idea to move with the times. However, it must be value for money, and should not be funded by tax payers’ money. It should be funded, built and operated by private sector entrepreneurs. They could be Japanese, Chinese or anybody, privately operated and commercially viable.

The current rail system based on government funded Network Rail should concentrate on meeting the capacity needs of the passengers and standards of punctuality at present and in the future. High-speed HS2 or whatever should be handed to private operators of any consortium or origin, for the use by tourists and businessmen or anyone who can afford and is willing to pay the price of a more advanced train journey.