HiFi Subjectivist ¦ Audio Forum ¦ NVA User Group

Anyone see the programme about HS2 the other week?

Lots of people getting fucked over by not getting proper compensation for the compulsory purchase of their land. This thing is going to cost way more than you have been told. Jobs for the boys, none of us low life's will benefit from this bag of shite. Good for the economy ? We shall see. Only good for MP's and over paid business men to get to London a few minutes sooner.

Sorry, off topic alert

I reckon the cost will spiral and it will have to be scrapped after billions of pounds have been wasted.

How come the French, Germans, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Italians, Taiwanese etc can do it and yet you say we cannot. FFS we invented the bloody things, yet we plod around on a system created for steam locos and 60mph that has been upgraded as far as it will go. Yes it will cost, things cost, don't you know. Look at the corrupted and incompetent for the corruption and incompetence not the concept.

The sites below make interesting reading. After you’ve read the ‘news’ and before all the indignant fingers hit the keyboards the first three sites on the list might add some perspective.


https://www.politifact.com/

https://fullfact.org/

https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/

I find this site quite amusing.
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page

Dr Bunsen Honeydew wrote: ↑Fri Dec 21, 2018 10:50 pm How come the French, Germans, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Italians, Taiwanese etc can do it and yet you say we cannot. FFS we invented the bloody things, yet we plod around on a system created for steam locos and 60mph that has been upgraded as far as it will go. Yes it will cost, things cost, don't you know. Look at the corrupted and incompetent for the corruption and incompetence not the concept.

It's a crowded country with no wide open spaces. If you just draw a line through middle of country and then confiscate people's property on the cheap you are asking for trouble. It only saves about 10 minutes on present line. It would have been far easier to follow the M1 corridor as there is already a strip containing roads rail and canals. Nothing much of outstanding beauty to destroy and few tunnels and viaducts to build. About 5 mins more traveling time. It's capacity that is required and not speed. We invented the tilting train yey stupidly scrapped it for other countries to develop. Back in the 80s it was parked in view of the office I occasionally used in Derby. Actually what is required is trains that actually turn up and fares that cost half as much. Apart from London business how many will even afford to use this thing because the fares will likely be far higher than at present.

Classicrock wrote: ↑Sat Dec 22, 2018 11:37 am

Dr Bunsen Honeydew wrote: ↑Fri Dec 21, 2018 10:50 pm How come the French, Germans, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Italians, Taiwanese etc can do it and yet you say we cannot. FFS we invented the bloody things, yet we plod around on a system created for steam locos and 60mph that has been upgraded as far as it will go. Yes it will cost, things cost, don't you know. Look at the corrupted and incompetent for the corruption and incompetence not the concept.

It's capacity that is required and not speed. We invented the tilting train yey stupidly scrapped it for other countries to develop. Back in the 80s it was parked in view of the office I occasionally used in Derby. Actually what is required is trains that actually turn up and fares that cost half as much.

Agreed...

...AND high speed lines.

Birmingham to Paris in 1.5 hours would make the UK a very different place.

But the lines wont connect, and use different London Termini about 1 mile apart, that is the daft thing about this project.

Someone didn't do a cost benefit analysis on this one. The gain in speed over relatively short distances (in fact edge of London to Birmingham Airport) does not justify the expenditure. Faster trains are possible for a fraction of the cost. There would be more benefit in connecting the motorway network to Norwich. Actually with trains the main problem is east to west both midlands and especially the north of England. It's a project designed by someone in London and as Doc mentioned incredibly has no link with HS1. Running HS2 parallel to existing lines from Euston makes far more sense as you can walk a short distance to St Pancras for HS1 and even build a connecting line.

Dr Bunsen Honeydew wrote: ↑Sat Dec 22, 2018 12:34 pm But the lines wont connect, and use different London Termini about 1 mile apart, that is the daft thing about this project.

I know.

Pity we didn't have an EU in 1830 to agree common standards and a joined up transport plan

If we had had an EU it would have had a dictator Napoleon. There was no planning at all in UK, it was just about who could raise enough capital through shares and get the job passed by Parliament.