HS2/High Speed 2 - Will it happen?

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Bit harsh as you don't know the situation each one is in. Could be a family home that's passed down or the location of a business that will suffer a loss of trade.
Plus you say current value, surely all the values have dropped like a brick since this was announced.

Be interesting to see how people's opinions have changed since the original post. Personally I was for it when announced but now I really don't see the point, due to the lack of stops and cost its not going to add much capacity and will be used by businesses and the well off to avoid having to use the standard lines at peak times.
Perhaps Amazon will sponsor it and we can at least get some high speed freight on the tracks.
 
Capacity.

Bizarrely more and more freight is going on the rails, freight is slow which is why speed is always being mentioned as passenger trains are held up by freight.

I do think England is not big enough for any high speed rail, unless it links Scotland, a stop off in Sheffield & London.
 
I'm against it due to green reasons. But don't think it will be cost effective or quick.
 
The way I see it is that the infrastructure needs massive overhaul.

To do that you need to take lines out of action for several months if not longer. If you do that, you push congestion onto the roads, or on smaller lines causing massive problems.

Just look at TfL/Tube - the ideal situation would be to suspend the tube for years and rip it out and start again. However, Crossrail will address a lot of it by increasing the capacity of London by 10%. Once in place they will be able to close certain stations/sections to upgrade them properly rather than the patch work they currently do on our rail infrastructure.

The London to B'Ham route isn't hugely needed, but with Manchester growing the way it is, and getting more mobility to people in the northern part of the UK I think this could really help. Taking an hour off the journey to B'Ham and even more for some of the northern towns is hard to scoff at. Personally I travel up to Manchester and Leeds relatively regularly - if I can knock off an hour or more via HS2 - then it cannot come quickly enough.

WE need to improve our infrastructure in this country, end of. Rail is part of it. More freight, more regular trains on the existing routes,

It will create jobs, and improve local lives in the long term. If we want to grow we need to commit to infrastructure projects to provide the foundations for growth.

That's my opinion anyway.


edit: wow - old thread!
 
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Now if the nimbys would **** off that'd be great, planning permission really needs more eminent domain in it, tired of the stories of something that benefits millions get ruined by one guy. Just pay them off and do it.
 
I just can't see the cost/ benefit of it.

Do you really need to get to get to Birmingham a few minutes quicker? What with technology how it is.

If we are arguing capacity wise, I believe capacity could be improved for a fraction of the cost.
 
It's more than just getting to Birmingham significantly quicker, it is about growing as well.

I agree there must be a more costly way of doing it though as the costs do seem to have spiralled out of control. How would you suggest doing it at a fraction of the cost?
 
Freefaller said:
It's more than just getting to Birmingham significantly quicker, it is about growing as well.

I agree there must be a more costly way of doing it though as the costs do seem to have spiralled out of control. How would you suggest doing it at a fraction of the cost?
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Why does it matter? We're employing people, they're paying tax and supporting the locale.
 
Freefaller said:
I did say that in my previous post...
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Well specifically i meant the construction workers, in that government investment is usually entirely self-sufficient regardless of cost... as long as the project is broad enough, a railway project is rather narrow (obviously), when compared to creating a new town, where someone has to work the schools/shops/amenities/whatnot.
 
I work specifically in that industry so I'm biased - so for me, it's a great project (we've secured some of the work on HS2). But I see the opportunity for new homes, infrastructure (in terms of buildings, schools, hospitals etc...), roads the whole package.
 
Tuppy_Glossop said:
Won't it just make housing in Brum and Manc just as unaffordable as in London?

Edit: Because London Workers will be able to move out further to commute.
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That's not happened since my hometown got a train station again just under ten years ago. It's now within 45 minutes by direct train into London IIRC and houses are still pretty cheap.
 
Freefaller said:
Taking an hour off the journey to B'Ham and even more for some of the northern towns is hard to scoff at.
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I think you've got your stats mixed up. It's a 30 minute saving between Birmingham and London (currently 80 minutes), 60 minute saving between Manchester and London (currently 128 minutes).
 
gord said:
It's a 30 minute saving between Birmingham and London (currently 80 minutes), 60 minute saving between Manchester and London (currently 128 minutes).
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Great if you're already in those locations, but if you have to first travel to one of the station cities, the saving is diminished. I imagine a majority of people would fall into that category.
 
gord said:
I think you've got your stats mixed up. It's a 30 minute saving between Birmingham and London (currently 80 minutes), 60 minute saving between Manchester and London (currently 128 minutes).
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I was sure I had written half an hour and an hour for other destinations. Ah well should have paid more attention... Considering I just came out of a meeting about it! :o

Either way still worthwhile as it will deload the other parts of the network which will allow further upgrades. Win win.
 
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