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High Speed Train 2

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There isn't much to see from Curzon Street. Was various signs "Private property keep out no trespassing". Or something like that. Then again those signs have been there for years.
 
Eric Gibson said:
I saw that, I wonder how much the cost has been raised by having to wait around for archaeologists et al to do their stuff.

I saw a report that in one quite short road widening scheme it had cost £35,000 each to observe and move six great crested newts a hundred yards to a different wet patch. :(
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why not, ...when great crested newts are gone there gone. trains and buildings can be replaced.
 
mw0njm. said:
why not, ...when great crested newts are gone there gone. trains and buildings can be replaced.
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But nobody was suggesting the should be killed off, if disturbed they simply move on to a nearby alternative site without the need for the huge expense of searching them out and moving them.
 
I quite agree Alberta. Money talks and depends who is on what committee at what point in time, anything before is not referred to. Speaking to so many people about this and government decisions in general. Like your trees.
I think it like a lot of projects has become political.
Coventry has been knocked down and refashioned with bits lost every time there is nothing left.
Mate made a point, when the businessmen get off the train they still have to get to where they are going.
He thinks ordinary folk won't be able to afford to ride on it.
And while its speeding along, what happens to the 'normal trains' with they be improved.
 
Pedrocut said:
“A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.”

William Henry Davies.
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Tis bad enough in man or woman,
To steal a goose from off the common
Far worser he without excuse
Who steals the common from the goose.
by Arthur Worsley. Repeal of the cornlaws era.
 
we used it a lot. is the line still in use?
Wilmcote Station
Bearley East, North and West Junctions
Wootton Wawen Platform
Henley in Arden
 
Alan
Surely only part of the line was built in the 20th century. Should you not call it one of the newest rail routes, rather than lines
 
The Stratford to Honeybourne section was doubled (virtually rebuilt I suggest) in the 20th.c and most of the rest was built in the 20th.c. Doubling usually means far more than another track. Bridges, new stations and signalling etc. takes place. However, there would have been major works along this new route which must have altered the landscape and meant some demolitions. As most people had less time on their hands at that period and probably considered the new railway a good thing I suspect little protest took place. As with any new developments their will always be dissidents.
Tyseley to Bearley junction was new and Honeybourne to Cheltenham was also. The only way to Bristol from Birmingham prior to this was via the Midland Railway.
 
Well the plot thickens I read that Japan will now switch to Mag-lev trains for it's high speed lines
Projected start date for sevice 2027.
With others coming on line
 
All projects managed by governments/ civil servants go the same way, they change the specification repeatedly and with each change the price goes up.

The Scottish Parliament building was a prime example, quoted cost at outset £40 million cost on completion £404 million, then they had to start making more changes because it didn't quite work as intended.

Another example is the IT systems used by the taxation and benefits systems, good ideas fiddled about with and left wanting.
 
Stopping HS2- nothing official has been published yet, Those that leak reports do so for a variety of reasons and what they release is siezed on by those with vested interests and select arguments favourable to their views. One is the road lobby where diverting passengers would release more track access for rail.

Then there are the supporters of Crossrail 2. London has benefited enormously from public money to upgrade public transport, including Crossrail, which is still unfinished. Were it not for those interests, HS2 to Birmingham should have taken priority and probably would have been built now.

There is also the matter of the Act of Parliament that had been granted for work to proceed. That was a long battle against tremendous opposition. Yet there are those that want to over turn such things even now.
 
Oh good heavens, there are so many 'backward lookers' on here. "Scrap it!" "Spend the money on existing lines!!" etc, etc. OK, scrap HS2. There aren't enough platforms at New Street for the existing traffic, so how can you get more in? Close Station Street, Stephenson Street and the nearest part of Navigation Street and get two, maybe three extra platforms. Demolish thousands of houses fields, woodlands and lay extra tracks between main towns. Local and freight trains already compete unsuccessfully with expresses for track useage of the existing network, how else can we have trains that will carry the capacity required without having to stand all the way? The great advantage of HS2 which everyone seems to ignore is the fact it will move the express traffic away from overcrowded lines, making room for more local trains (e.g. the reccommended Moseley and Kings Heath service as part of the 'cross city' network) not only on the track, but in the stations as well.
"... if you were to travel to Curzon Street by HS2 you will then have to walk into the City." Really? you mean there won't be connecting bus services, taxis, or the promised Metro extension? If you travel from Birmingham to Brighton, don't you still have to cross London from Euston to Victoria for the connection? Tell you what, lets go back to using steam engines - there's still plenty of coal under "this green and pleasant land", and look at the thousands of jobs it will make for the unemployed - while we're on about railways, ALL of Beeching's cuts should be reinstated, thousands of people complained about them at the time, more employment and more travel coverage accross the country to many little villages & hamlets the now have no public transport whatsoever. (Rant over!)
 
Lloyd said:
Oh good heavens, there are so many 'backward lookers' on here. "Scrap it!" "Spend the money on existing lines!!" etc, etc. OK, scrap HS2. There aren't enough platforms at New Street for the existing traffic, so how can you get more in? Close Station Street, Stephenson Street and the nearest part of Navigation Street and get two, maybe three extra platforms. Demolish thousands of houses fields, woodlands and lay extra tracks between main towns. Local and freight trains already compete unsuccessfully with expresses for track useage of the existing network, how else can we have trains that will carry the capacity required without having to stand all the way? The great advantage of HS2 which everyone seems to ignore is the fact it will move the express traffic away from overcrowded lines, making room for more local trains (e.g. the reccommended Moseley and Kings Heath service as part of the 'cross city' network) not only on the track, but in the stations as well.
"... if you were to travel to Curzon Street by HS2 you will then have to walk into the City." Really? you mean there won't be connecting bus services, taxis, or the promised Metro extension? If you travel from Birmingham to Brighton, don't you still have to cross London from Euston to Victoria for the connection? Tell you what, lets go back to using steam engines - there's still plenty of coal under "this green and pleasant land", and look at the thousands of jobs it will make for the unemployed - while we're on about railways, ALL of Beeching's cuts should be reinstated, thousands of people complained about them at the time, more employment and more travel coverage accross the country to many little villages & hamlets the now have no public transport whatsoever. (Rant over!)
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I agree with you totally, the gloom and doom that pervades on this site at times can be depressing. 'FORWARD' is the motto.
 
Whilst I agree to some extent it's not possible to restore all the lines closed by Beeching, many have been used for other purposes or built on for housing.

A few are still in use by the enthusiasts of steam but only because those running them are doing it for fun not for money.

On the subject of cost I recall the Concorde project, how many £billions would that equate to in today's money?
Was it a success? It was certainly, in the engineering and beauty stakes but commercially it had to be given away free gratis to the national airlines of Britain and France to get it in the air and selling tickets.
 
Eric Gibson said:
Whilst I agree to some extent it's not possible to restore all the lines closed by Beeching, many have been used for other purposes or built on for housing.

A few are still in use by the enthusiasts of steam but only because those running them are doing it for fun not for money.

On the subject of cost I recall the Concorde project, how many £billions would that equate to in today's money?
Was it a success? It was certainly, in the engineering and beauty stakes but commercially it had to be given away free gratis to the national airlines of Britain and France to get it in the air and selling tickets.
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Concorde was a beautiful piece of technology and art. I doubt we could say the same of HS2.
 
Lumpammer said:
Concorde was a beautiful piece of technology and art. I doubt we could say the same of HS2.
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I have a feeling you could be surprised. This project is a railway for the future and will likely have some novel things. Tie will tell, but I doubt I will see it.

Not all tourist style lines are run by free labour volunteers. One of the most successful is in South Devon which has very few volunteers but hundreds of paid staff. In addition to steam trains there is fleet of boats, including a unique steam powered paddle steamer, and buses. The buses enable a round trip (slightly inland) to be achieved. I believe some of the closed lines will be restored to the national network, where possible, in the future. Some tourist lines may become shared with the national system in one way or another. That last comment is, of course a hot potato. :laughing:
 
Eric Gibson said:
A few are still in use by the enthusiasts of steam but only because those running them are doing it for fun not for money.
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Not exactly. Several have income numbering many £million
Radiorails said:
Not all tourist style lines are run by free labour volunteers. One of the most successful is in South Devon which has very few volunteers but hundreds of paid staff. In addition to steam trains there is fleet of boats, including a unique steam powered paddle steamer, and buses. The buses enable a round trip (slightly inland) to be achieved. I believe some of the closed lines will be restored to the national network, where possible, in the future. Some tourist lines may become shared with the national system in one way or another. That last comment is, of course a hot potato. :laughing:
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You are confusing the Dartmouth Steam Railway with the South Devon Railway. The Dartmouth Steam Railway has no [zero] voluteers whereas apart from South Devon Railway Engineering (a separate company) the South Devon Railway is highly dependant upon volunteers.

There already are 'shared' lines. North Yorkshire Moors Railway into Whitby. I believe the Swanage Railway shares some commonality with main line, and there will be some Summer services from the main line which will run into Bishop's Lydeard on the West Somerset Railway.
 
Ken, I am sorry to contradict you but the Dartmouth line does have a handful of volunteers. I volunteered on the line for over fifteen years, until a couple of years ago. I was also a volunteer on the original Dart Valley railway - Totnes to Ashburton when it was in its early days. Family commitments took over.
 
I stand corrected. I was always led to be believe that there was no volunteer input.

As for the South Devon, I will be down at Buckfastleigh next month to collect some fabrications.
 
Ken_R said:
I stand corrected. I was always led to be believe that there was no volunteer input.

As for the South Devon, I will be down at Buckfastleigh next month to collect some fabrications.
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A lot make that mistake about the DSR. ;) Its not purist enough for many.
 
devonjim said:
Long time in the future but I would expect business trips will be at premium rates but off peak will have to be pitched at cost prices with very little contribution to profit so that west coast routes can be slashed to free up capacity on conventional lines for local passengers.
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Jim, I think you are on to something...………..That's what the airlines do and while its pretty bumpy (financially) it allows them to fill capacity.
 
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