Existing contracts would have to be paid for anyway, so work may as well continue whilst ongoing decisions are being made. "On hold" will mean no new contracts to be let out as yet.I thought I recently read that HS2 was on hold pending further Governmental decisions ? because of escalating costs etc... did I read it wrong. Eric
From the BBC today
HS2 should happen despite rising cost, says review
A draft copy of a review into the project says it might cost even more than its current price of £88bn.www.bbc.co.uk
So as someone that's been out of the loop both on the new trams and HS 2 and reading the Eagle and Turn thread I thought some education on the subject for me was needed.
I've read the fors and the against arguments both sides have valid points.
The current cost estimate for me is still low do not get me wrong 88 Billion is no small number but I fear the further we get down the rails the larger the cost will become
If all goes well and high speed rail gets completed in 2035 ?, that would be 25 years from the germ of the idea and forecasting costs that far ahead bothers me
Let me switch tracks here and float a thought
The CES show has just taken place here in America ( consumer electronics show ) and one of the big items getting a lot of buzz was small drones capable of carrying people
Shown was a collaboration drone between Hyundai and Uber, with a estimated realized time of 10 years.
Look how quick technology is moving two brothers at the beginning of the last century had the first powered flight on a beach, 70 years later we were walking on the Moon.
We had CD players that at first would skip if you hit a bump in the road that got fixed with a chip, well that chip had more computing power than the Apollo Rocket that went to the moon.
Look what's in your handbag or front trouser pocket a hand held device there let's you communicate any where in the world and God knows what else.
We already have self driving cars and trucks on our roads, what's stopping us from having self flying drones and if that's the case why bother with rails at any speed.
Do not misunderstand I can see a need for short rail journeys and jumping on a tram
How about I live in Rednal and I want to travel to London I go to Cofften Park hop on a Uber drone fly to London hop off in Hyde Park just like a rock star.
Technology is only as good as the person operating it. Remember the old computer adage; 'Rubbish in, rubbish out'. p.s what car were you in that was 'driving itself'?I wonder with HS2's fine tuning if it will keep breaking down or won't be able to manage leaves and frozen points?
I was a passenger in a car which drove itself on a cruise position, in France, I felt very uncomfortable and it flagged up a disabled parking spot on a raised pavement on a five way junction at traffic lights except it was only accessible from the opposite direction. The driver, Captain Fearless crossed the junction on the diagonal, heading the wrong way in to oncoming traffic at the lights and parked it, the other drivers were in a state of shock. As were we.
Point I am trying to make is with this surge of new technology ''I" think it brings more opportunities for accidents. The legislation and safety is not as yet keeping up with new invention. (in this case here of inapropiate snooping) Or am I old fashioned? I could go on that drone flyers are up to no good as they no laws have been made for them. We also are getting rising bad reports about Uber drivers where I live.
I'd like to ask though why do we need a HS2 when the lines we have can hardly cope with the normal trains we have.