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High Speed Train 2

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Bob Johnson said:
When you say 'Driving itself', what do you mean exactly. Did it have some kind of lane guidance, intrigued?
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It can't overtake another vehicle, the driver sets the steering wheel and it slows down or speeds up itself in relevance with the vehicle in front and detects vehicles in proximity either side and behind.
 
Radiorails said:
From the statistics in the links it will be seen that Birmingham New Street station almost doubled it footfall in the last decade and that was despite its major alteration work. It is a very busy place indeed.

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Alan, these are nice charts, however if they really want to deal with the problem you need more information (which they most likely they have). Break the charts down by day then by hour, that will show where the pressure points are and what needs to be fixed. We do this with factory automation every day. I am working on a project in China and Italy where we are doing this. The owners of these companies have been very surprised pleasantly so where the problems really are and the solutions are being proven more cost effective.
Failure to do this breakdown the data will simply defer the problem and exacerbate the result! As Bob said earlier everyone seems obsessed with 200 mph, when 90 mph would be just as good and more financially effective and much timely to implement because most of that technology is available.
If they (governments everywhere) do not deal with the detail in the end after spending a lot of money, very little will change. All they are doing is deferring the inevitable. Something has to change instead of pushing it down the road to another generation!
 
I only linked these ORR statistics to show how rail travel in the Birmingham area has increased in recent years. BHF being essentially historically orientated.
There are other statistics however, from which far more could be gleaned but I doubt most here would be that inclined.
 
Radiorails said:
I only linked these ORR statistics to show how rail travel in the Birmingham area has increased in recent years. BHF being essentially historically orientated.
There are other statistics however, from which far more could be gleaned but I doubt most here would be that inclined.
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Alan, I agree! I was trying to point out that you need more than top line numbers to really solve problems. As the saying goes: In God we trust all others bring data!
 
Richarddye said:
One of the problems with the current approach is that with current work patterns, most of this high speed expensive stuff sits idle 70% of the time and worse on weekends. We need to look at changing work patterns or shut up about the cost.
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Just allocate everyone to one of the three 8-hour shifts at a 'tractor factory' located within 50 miles of their allocated dormitory module and, after 25 years faithful service, they can apply for a permit to visit The Great Leader's Palace in London, ('off-peak', of course).

Perish the thought that the common person can make choices for themselves.
 
Spargone said:
Just allocate everyone to one of the three 8-hour shifts at a 'tractor factory' located within 50 miles of their allocated dormitory module and, after 25 years faithful service, they can apply for a permit to visit The Great Leader's Palace in London, ('off-peak', of course).

Perish the thought that the common person can make choices for themselves.
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Are you Jeremy Corbyn? :)

Mixing the subject up a bit..railways etc.

When the Soviet Communist regime were running the rail system in Russia there's a story about a route that was proposed to be closed, to keep it open they, in central government, said it would have to carry 100 tonnes of steel a day to be viable.

The local managers loaded it with the required 100 tonnes and never unloaded it, it ran for many years carrying just a few passengers and the same steel going back and forth, it was viable according to the paperwork.
 
Eric Gibson said:
Are you Jeremy Corbyn? :)

Mixing the subject up a bit..railways etc.

When the Soviet Communist regime were running the rail system in Russia there's a story about a route that was proposed to be closed, to keep it open they, in central government, said it would have to carry 100 tonnes of steel a day to be viable.

The local managers loaded it with the required 100 tonnes and never unloaded it, it ran for many years carrying just a few passengers and the same steel going back and forth, it was viable according to the paperwork.
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That sounds like the airlines who fly with empty seats or flights for a quid.
 
I suppose people like to argue. They select the facts that suit them. The London and Birmingham Railway is the core of the of the need for replacement, This railway was engineered by Robert Stephenson with viaducts and tunnel of that age. The London & North Western Railway made improvements and there are often 4 tracks to Euston. When first built there was an incline from London Euston to Camden with stationary steam engines drawing the coaches up to Camden.
 
carolina said:
Personally, I think it will be a great advantage to Birmingham, the area will be upgraded, companies will be looking to move there as it will be commutable (and from the North eventually) and this will bring more finance into Brum.
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I doubt that I shall be around to see it.
My daughter quite often now goes down to London for a day's work from Brum I think she would appreciate the "shorter" day.
Should lighten load on existing tracks and get some extra local commuters into New Street.
 
Edifi said:
Whether or not it helps it might do.Because at the moment every time things are mentioned on the BBC it's all about Manchester ,Liverpool Newcastle. Brum as become a backwater.Read in the news paper the other day that the M1 was built so you could get to Leeds quicker
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Grant Shapps was in Birmingham today opening a new centre. Was on the ITV news earlier.
 
carolina said:
Personally, I think it will be a great advantage to Birmingham, the area will be upgraded, companies will be looking to move there as it will be commutable (and from the North eventually) and this will bring more finance into Brum.
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I quite agree. Those who are saying 'its not necessary' are the descendants (in spirit) of those who decried railways in the first place, saying stagecoaches were sufficiently fast for the people and canals for the freight. If built to the correct pattern, fast high capacity (double deck even) trains could run from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham far into the continent of Europe, as could freight.
 
devonjim said:
I doubt that I shall be around to see it.
My daughter quite often now goes down to London for a day's work from Brum I think she would appreciate the "shorter" day.
Should lighten load on existing tracks and get some extra local commuters into New Street.
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jim i think it will shorten the brum to london run by about 30 mins...just hope those who use the HS2 trains think its worth the extra they will no doubt be paying for tickets...

lyn
 
Astoness said:
jim i think it will shorten the brum to london run by about 30 mins...just hope those who use the HS2 trains think its worth the extra they will no doubt be paying for tickets...

lyn
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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.
 
The fares of HS2 trains will, for a great many people, be offset as business expenses: that is who the passenger target is probably aimed at.
A lot of those on business journeys seem to accomplish much of their 'office' work on laptops while making their journey. Even those not on business are mostly glued to mobile phones or tablets listening to music or stories with few admiring the scenery - or so it was on my last train journey to York.
There is a trend to move some companies out of London and I believe Birmingham is on the short list - after all someone has to fill all those office blocks being built.
I doubt I will see its completion (if it is) and far less likely to travel on it.
 
Unforeseen consequences. Chamberlain's improvement scheme swept away the local obstructions, but the promised housing provision for the poor didn’t materialise. Only 62 houses were built to replace the 600 which had been destroyed in clearing the centre. The displaced poor colonised other parts of the town...
 
Lloyd said:
I quite agree. Those who are saying 'its not necessary' are the descendants (in spirit) of those who decried railways in the first place, saying stagecoaches were sufficiently fast for the people and canals for the freight. If built to the correct pattern, fast high capacity (double deck even) trains could run from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham far into the continent of Europe, as could freight.
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Totally agree.
 
carolina said:
Personally, I think it will be a great advantage to Birmingham, the area will be upgraded, companies will be looking to move there as it will be commutable (and from the North eventually) and this will bring more finance into Brum.
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I am sure it will Carolina or it has the possibilities too. I personally cannot console myself to the natural habitat it will destroy least not peoples' homes. It happened to my partner's aunt for a link road to a motorway with a compulsary purchase order and it finished the aunty off. She never got over it. And my friend here who lost his home and small holding to a new road for the Jaguar plant. When it affects people directly people think differently.
 
Views from Moor Street Car Park in the fog.

Towards Latif's



Clayton Hotel will be getting an extension.



Bit hard to see, but was yellow diggers behind the Avanti West Coat Pendolino's heading in and out of Birmingham New Street.



 
Astoness said:
and no doubt carolina in another 100 years or maybe less history will as it does be repeating itself...providing we have enough spare land that is... :rolleyes:

lyn
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The 'experts' say that if the UK was a soccer pitch all of the built on (concreted over as the Greenies call it) areas would be accommodated in the arc area of a single corner flag, everything else farmland and open spaces.
 
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. :(
 
Well some big numbers mentioned.
Both for pay and construction already triple the original budget
This is starting to look like the big dig in Boston.
The problem for most we really do not know what a billion is
I am talking a U S billion if you threw away a dollar a second every day it would take you 3,300 years, now it would take 33,000 years if you start with a trillion.
 
I would like to see it stopped, write off the 7 billion already paid out and use the other estimated 100 billion to fund more worthy causes.
That said it will not bring back the buildings and businesses they have decimated.
It is supposed to save 20 minutes, how, if you travel to New Street now you are in the City, if you were to travel to Curzon Street by HS2 you will then have to walk into the City.
I saw a bloke talking about how it will almost double the price of our houses , lovely for those of us who own our own houses but what about local youngsters who hope to buy in the future.
My personal gripe is that opposite my house there are 4 enormous trees on a small patch of grass, they are beautiful but need managing, the local council refused to do this saying that they do not believe in cutting trees.
Almost every tree , thousands of them, between my house and Bickenhill has been cut down, it is heartbreaking to see.
 
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