World's 'most expensive' high-speed rail line to be slower and cost more
A high-speed train line between London and Birmingham will be more expensive, take longer to make and go slower than previously announced.
The HS2 project will cost between £87.7bn and £102.7bn (in 2025 prices), with the first train services not starting until at least May 2036 and possibly not until October 2039, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told the Commons on Tuesday.
We'll walk.
14 comments:
One of yesterday's newspaper headlines was that HS2 will cost more than that of the NASA Artemis moon trip. If true, it shows what a complete bunch of political numpties we have been toiling under for so long. I don't suppose NASA would consider using the HS2 committee for a Mars trip?
Penseivat
I wonder what the fares will be when or if it ever gets built.
Penseivat - that's a thought, the HS2 committee could be sent on a Mars trip and halfway there they could be told that the project had become too expensive so they would need more funding to come back.
Woodsy - a couple of pints of blood?
When my wife met Rishi - whom she thought a charming and intelligent young man - she suggested he should cancel HS2. He said "But the contracts are all signed". She reported this to me and I said "Then he's not cut out for high office."
Call me cynical but I fully expect 'departure' and 'arrival' times to be redefined for HS2 so that higher speeds can be claimed.
I retired to France in DEC 1997. I was told by the Notaire that SNCF (French Railways) a High Speed Line was in the PLANNING STAGE, but he did not think that one of the proposed routes which was 7km from my cottage. Thankfully it was routed the other side of a small town 10km from me.
WORK STARTED on about 2000. The distance between Tours and Bordeaux is 300 km (188 miles).
The route was opened in 2016. There were great problems at each end as the route had to go to the existing railway stations in the centres of the towns.
Perhaps the UK government should sack the existing contractors and employ the French team.
dearieme - I agree, it was his job to tear up the contracts and instruct government lawyers to come up with reasons.
DAD - interesting, everyone seems to be better at building railways than we are, but we could extend that to quite a few other areas too. Nuclear power stations for example.
DJ - that's a good idea. Create artificial time zones restricted to HS2 stations.
HS2 ... so wonderfully connected at either end.
James - and no real sense that anyone cares.
Err. Not Nuclear Power Stations. EDF are having problems in France, UK and (Finland?) in both time and budget.
DAD - during the 2019 general election campaign Sajid Javid came to our door with our local MP. I mentioned energy issues and he said nuclear power would be provided from Hinckley Point. When I pointed out that EDF didn't have a good record he changed the subject.
I don't suppose we could turn it into a motorway? No?
Tammly - I saw that suggested a while back. A bus only motorway, something like that.
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