HS2

[Mick F]

......... But who wants to go from London to Aberdeen?

[recumbentpanda]

......... But who wants to go from London to Aberdeen?

Well yeah, I get the humour (not being a Scot , but some of my Japanese friends might equally ask "Who wants to go to Aomori City from Tokyo?' But it's only when you do that you get to see what a great place it is, how nice the people are, and how they grow these massive apples and actually make very decent cider . . . and then you go back to Tokyo with a few bottles and tell all your friends about it. Similarly, Aberdeen has a lot going for it too, and if I wanted to do the cynical British humour thing I could say the major point in its favour is that it is Not Like London - Just as Aomori City is very much Not Like Tokyo, and thus well worth Tokyo-ites going to see . . .

[mrjemm]

......... But who wants to go from London to Aberdeen?

Who'd want to go from anywhere to Aberdeen? Except perhaps Peterhead...

[Steady rider]

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/features/rea ... re_at_all/

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/features/rea ... e_instead/

The track in Japan is 4 feet 8.5 inch for the fast electric service I gather. Could their high speed train run on UK tracks and would the ride be any different to our current high speed trains? How effective would it be to use their train types on the east coast service.

[recumbentpanda]

It's pretty evident that a lot of effort went into tHe track engineering in Japan. The 'roadbed' is not at all like ordinary track. The rails are laid ina kind of continuous concrete trough with special joints between each section. The trains themselves are technically no different from the Eurostar units, which are Hitachi built.

[Tonyf33]

the high speed trains are always in massive perpetual debt, japans included.. http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j& ... kIvPSs6cPQ

these multiple statements just show how much deception and lies are used to forward this crud.. http://stophs2.org/news/10028-hs2-facts-and-problems
this will just be another drain on the taxpayer for no gain whatsoever, it is completely and utterly ludicrous that this is being backed, especially Labour...shame on them...

[661-Pete]

There are lots of places I don't particularly want to get a train too - not just at the moment. Long inter-city train rides don't come very frequently to me, although I did go by train from my home (Sussex) to Glasgow and back a few weeks ago, and before that a couple of trips to Newcastle. No complaints about the train service I experienced on those occasions, but then I'm not a commuter. My wife was, until a few years ago, so I know the score. Just getting a seat, reasonable comfort, affordability, and a punctual journey, to London Bridge or Waterloo or (nominate any city terminus you like) at 07:51 in the morning. That's what the bulk of rail-using public want. And I don't see how HSanything can deliver that...

[nez]

I'd have agreed with the negatives in this thread until recently when I took a train from Ebbsfleet to Paris. Wow.

[Steady rider]

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/poli ... 056246.ece

any data on the pollution expected?

http://www.conservativehome.com/platfor ... apsed.html

sounds like a cover up

[iviehoff]

I'd have agreed with the negatives in this thread until recently when I took a train from Ebbsfleet to Paris. Wow.

There's a lot of things that are very nice if you aren't paying for them. I'm not suggesting you didn't buy your ticket, but Eurotunnel went bankrupt and HS1 had to be bailed out by the government before it even started building, because revenues and costs couldn't be made to meet in the way originally intended. Thus the cost of you being carried to Paris in such style is not only funded by ticket sales, it is also funded by taxpayers (British and French) paying rather more than they originally expected to, and by some investors who lost 99% of their money. For me the main question about HS2 is whether it costs too much.

[Psamathe]

For me the main question about HS2 is whether it costs too much.

Also, cost in relation to what we are not spending money on (i.e. the "important" stuff government decides to cut or not pursue e.g. decent cycle infrastructure).

Ian

[nez]

I'd have agreed with the negatives in this thread until recently when I took a train from Ebbsfleet to Paris. Wow.

There's a lot of things that are very nice if you aren't paying for them. I'm not suggesting you didn't buy your ticket, but Eurotunnel went bankrupt and HS1 had to be bailed out by the government before it even started building, because revenues and costs couldn't be made to meet in the way originally intended. Thus the cost of you being carried to Paris in such style is not only funded by ticket sales, it is also funded by taxpayers (British and French) paying rather more than they originally expected to, and by some investors who lost 99% of their money. For me the main question about HS2 is whether it costs too much.

I paid for the army to go on holiday in Afghanistan, even though I didn't want to and as far as I know nor did they. I have paid for artificial inseminations of people I've never clapped eyes on, though it seems monstrous to me. I have paid for roads in Wales I will never drive on. I have paid for pot plants and relatives in MPs' offices, 'research' in universities which is barely above the level of stamp collecting, duck houses, the entire European farrago, my local council picks my pocket of 1500 sobs a year and spends much of it bossing me about and writing to me telling me how good they are. Trust me, when I sat on the Eurostar my conscience was clear about my contribution to modern British society.

[Mick F]

I agree with both sides of this argument.

A few years ago, we went on HS1 into Kent to attend a niece's wedding. We hadn't planned on the High Speed link, and we didn't initially realise we were on it.

It just so happened that I had my Garmin 705 with me and I recorded the journey and was absolutely amazed and surprised that we were doing 140+ mph. Not only that, but it was smooth and quiet and beautiful. A real treat.

However, looking out of the window, the countryside had been spoilt. The track was ugly and surrounded by forbidding fencing. I found it very sad indeed that that such a wonderful transport system was so horrible to look at - and live near too.

TBH, the journey from London to Ashworth (where we alighted) didn't need such a monumentally awful transport system.

[Steady rider]

I watched the BBC programme and many people expressed concerns.

http://www.bbowt.org.uk/news/2014/05/28 ... ile-sunday

The countryside/towns/villages in this country are that good to look at that I would not wish to go at more than 125 mph.

[Psamathe]

Interesting report about how HS2 are spending money and the documents altered "in an apparent attempt to cover up mistakes".

MPs call for legal action over 'shocking' HS2 payouts
...
MPs have called on the government to consider legal action against the former chief executive of the public body building the new high-speed rail network, over £1.76m in redundancy payments made in direct contravention of civil service rules.
...
An audit later found documents had been altered in an apparent attempt to cover up mistakes.

Ian