Do We Need A High Speed Train?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2269401/HS2-route-London-Manchester-train-hour-20-years.html

/// London to Manchester by train in one hour (in 20 years): ///

One hour in 20 years time, may be crawling along.

[emmie]

boxy, did you need to move because of it, had your home compulsory purchased, because that is what will happen, already confirmed by the council of those living in the area around Euston, not all, but a figure of 200 homes to go, a not inconsiderably sum, when you consider that homes are needed in that area and many more like it.

[emmie]

LM, we have the welfare state, that pumps billions into almost everyone's pocket one way or another, for some it might not be much, for others it might be a lot, depending if you are elderly, get a state pension, care facilities, so in truth much is different from those days, and there is no supposing that we are all going to be turfed out, ending up in the poor house any day soon.

[DJHawkes]

should't they try to make the trains we already have up here half decent instead of fobbing us off with the unwanted southern rejects each time a southern line gets new rolling stick?

How would all this new build of rail links help the people wanting to go to work locally? The jobs aren;t up here and so it will surely just be one way traffic, down to london in a morning and home at night.

It won;t stop at small stations and so folks will still need to get to the big stations to park up and catch it. how come this is the government's only option to get us out of the recession?

[emmie]

they have been replacing our Victorian drainage, pipes, sewage system for so long now, that just about every part of the capital has had and continues to have major disruptions. From something i read a while back, that if the pipes were all replaced right across the capital, it would take a thousand years, well i ain't got that long i reckon ... and seemingly parts are still sound enough, but believe me we have had our roads dug up systematically, and relaid so often forgotten what it was like before...

[LeMarchand]

em10: give it time; I'm sure the Eton boy has some of his best people working on it as we speak.

// how come this is the government's only option to get us out of the recession?//

Because, like many government plans, it SOUNDS logical and reasonable whilst providing a way for friends/family of the government in power to make a quick buck/get in on the ground floor. See also Andrew Lansley/NHS and (for balance) Labour's Home Information Packs and Building Schools for the Future.

[FredPuli43]

As to who will use it and isn't it just for the rich, the train holds about 1,000. If the operators depend on it being full of rich businessmen on expenses, they'll be disappointed. Current fast trains manage, though slower routes or trains are available. But the current fare structure is complicated and often ridiculous; a ticket to Liverpool cost £125 single this month but only £25 in April, and yet that is for first class. Why first class gets a discount of £100 when, presumably, the traveller can well afford full fare is not apparent. And there are other curious results when buying standard fare, even on the day.

The Swiss manage with two classes and one fare for each, discounting by a set amount if the traveller is a frequent traveller who has their equivalent of a railcard. And their trains run on time, to the minute, and aren't overcrowded either.

[mushroom25]

do we need a high speed train? the answer might depend on the reason for building hs2.

if it's to provide increased capacity then on its own, no. initiatives already in hand (such as lengthening pendolinos to 11 cars, and increasing the speed of certain long-distance local services) are already beginning to deliver the capacity increase promised by hs2.

if it's to build for the future - when fossil fuels will be so expensive that only the elite can afford to run cars or travel by air - then yes. although it's probably questionable whether building now would be appropriate.

in any case, public enquiries will probably ensure that anybody alive today will not live long enough to see high speed trains running on a new high speed line.

[jno]

then we're building it for our children, mushroom25, no bad thing, it makes a change from leaving them eternal debt and global warming.

[nanscamp]

according to the map of my little area affected it looks like it will cross a new dual carriageway and several main roads. That will be interesting

[Iggle Piggle]

If you don't want the Gov't to spend upwards of £50 BILLION on a vanity project that we simply don't need and can't afford, sign this petition, we can make a difference !
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/46498