So Lets Shaft Our Farmers.....
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HS2
What happened to HS1?
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“Yet today, it [HS1} is a highly successful routes and has a big patronage.
I’m not so sure you’re entirely right, Gromit. A few facts about HS1:
- It cost £5.7bn to build, and was sold for £2.1bn, with the taxpayer taking a write-off of £3.6bn.
- It has only ever operated at 30%-50% of its projected demand. Six trains have been mothballed because passenger numbers are so low.
- It has directly generated only 400 net new jobs excluding transfers.
- Some commuters have benefited from a faster journey time, in particular those travelling to or from the only two intermediate towns served by by HS1, (Ashford & Ebbsfleet). But they only account for a small minority of travellers. (No intermediate stations are planned for HS2 between London and Birmingham).
- Non- HS1 passengers have suffered a deterioration in local rail services as a result of HS1, which has caused longer travel times, less frequent trains, more overcrowding and increased costs. Train fare price rises in the Kent area are the highest in Britain, as they have to pay for HS1.
I am a staunch railway supporter and believe new railways are necessary for the UK to compete. But let’s not get bamboozled by the alleged “success” of HS1 and use it as a pattern for HS2.
I’m not so sure you’re entirely right, Gromit. A few facts about HS1:
- It cost £5.7bn to build, and was sold for £2.1bn, with the taxpayer taking a write-off of £3.6bn.
- It has only ever operated at 30%-50% of its projected demand. Six trains have been mothballed because passenger numbers are so low.
- It has directly generated only 400 net new jobs excluding transfers.
- Some commuters have benefited from a faster journey time, in particular those travelling to or from the only two intermediate towns served by by HS1, (Ashford & Ebbsfleet). But they only account for a small minority of travellers. (No intermediate stations are planned for HS2 between London and Birmingham).
- Non- HS1 passengers have suffered a deterioration in local rail services as a result of HS1, which has caused longer travel times, less frequent trains, more overcrowding and increased costs. Train fare price rises in the Kent area are the highest in Britain, as they have to pay for HS1.
I am a staunch railway supporter and believe new railways are necessary for the UK to compete. But let’s not get bamboozled by the alleged “success” of HS1 and use it as a pattern for HS2.
britain's railway carries less than 2% of the nation’s passenger journeys and less than 6.5% of its passenger-miles. Trips by rail in excess of 100 miles amount to only 5% of all rail trips and to less than one in a thousand of all motorised trips. 50% of national rail journeys are less than 20 miles long and, 95% are less than 100 miles long. It is the relatively short journeys that support the nation, not the 1 in 2000 that would use HSR. And the majority of these - passenger and freight - are made by road.
surely it makes more sense to invest this suddenly available pot of several billion on the road network, where the benefits - and the investment returns - will be visible almost immediately.
surely it makes more sense to invest this suddenly available pot of several billion on the road network, where the benefits - and the investment returns - will be visible almost immediately.
HS2 can be likened to Concorde IMO. Expensive to develop and build and then only for business people and the rich to buy tickets for. I would like to hear the projected cost of using HS2 compared to the present Virgin Trains.
The public are already being bamboozled by those with an interest in HS2. Last night on BBC Midlands Today a spokesman from Birmingham Airport was asked if he was disappointed that HS2 wasn't coming closer to the airport(In fact it will be almost four times further away that the existing railway station at Birmingham International Station which is 600mtrs away). He replied by their calculations the new interchange station of HS2 will be 2-3 minutes away from the airport terminal. He would be hard pressed to get from the airport terminal to the existing station concourse in 2-3 minutes never mind the new one.
The public are already being bamboozled by those with an interest in HS2. Last night on BBC Midlands Today a spokesman from Birmingham Airport was asked if he was disappointed that HS2 wasn't coming closer to the airport(In fact it will be almost four times further away that the existing railway station at Birmingham International Station which is 600mtrs away). He replied by their calculations the new interchange station of HS2 will be 2-3 minutes away from the airport terminal. He would be hard pressed to get from the airport terminal to the existing station concourse in 2-3 minutes never mind the new one.
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