You have to move with the times, chuffed. Like Marathon became Snickers, Opal Fruits became Starburst, and Lily Savage became Paul O'Grady, so Bust Rabid Transit has become.... Metrobust!  (Tah Dah!!!)

And so do I. I consider, though, that passenger numbers on FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s patch are more constant than Cross Country's ex Bristol. I may be wrong, but that's my impression. It follows that armed with reasonably accurate figures, the rolling stock for the line should be easy to plan for.

Which is why I fear a repeat. Anyone know if there are options for further trains in the contract with Agility / Hitachi?

I hope you don't see we cyclists as nothing but a load of lycra-clad fascists...

Sorry RS, I had little time to think before work. Someone has to ruin run this country. I have to agree, though, Metrobust ticks every box in the loony department. I can see, in my mind's rose-tinted eye, David Sutch when he pipped the SDP for 5th place in Bootle, 1990, shouting "Landslide!" He posed many questions, like "Why is there only one Monopolies Commission?". He made more sense than the major parties have over the past few days.

Oh, I wish! Bring back the screaming Lord! Give me Tarquin Fin-tim-lin-bin-whin-bim-lim-bus-stop-F'tang-F'tang-Ol^-Biscuitbarrel (to my shame, I didn't have to look that one up).

If anyone hadn't noticed that this is the party conference season, they will now. This is the one time of the year when the parties can shout spite ( or spout sh... - thank you, Rev Spooner) without the other parties getting a right of reply at the same forum. The Conservatives can say what they like, without fear of upsetting the Lib Dems, and Labour can snipe from the margins, laying the groundwork for blaming everything they find when they get back into power on the other lot. And Ed (or is it David) Miliband can try to explain what "One nation" means to the four nations in the United Kingdom.

Poor old HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) has been plonked on the political coconut shy, and people are throwing more at it than just little wooden balls. The broad consensus that existed between the leaders of the major parties at least has become a competition to see who can heap the most opprobrium on what was, last month, an essential piece of infrastructure, and vital to the economic well-being of the whole country, as well as to the regeneration of the frozen wastes of "The North" (from whence I fled). None of this is because we don't need HS2 like we did last month (we do, and will do so even more in 5 years time), nor because we can't afford it (we can - I did the math a few posts back), nor because it will be an underused white heffalump of a scheme (need I mention Bristol Metrobust?). It is all for the sake of a few headlines, and maybe getting a newspaper or two onside in what will be at most the penultimate conference round before the knives are sharpened for the next General election.

The pretty maiden, so ardently courted by many suitors, now finds that her champions have turned their backs on her. Pontius Pilate did not wash his hands so quickly.

The logic (if there is any) is warped. Many, many millions have already been spent. They will constitute cash down the khazi if it is scrapped, or even put on hold. If we start again in 5 years time, it will cost double, and whatever expertise and equipment we have put on standby will have gone elsewhere. There are many farm, land, and house owners along the route whose properties will be affected if the line is built, and even more so if it isn't. Those people's lives will be more affected by delay than by action - look at the two properties for sale in Sipson, putative site of Heathrow's third runway for many a year, and you will see what I mean. Being removed from Hell and placed merely into Limbo does no-one any good. As the Bard of Avon put it, "If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well It were done quickly" I wish I had his turn of phrase.

These shenanigans belittle the astute corporate entity that is HS2 Ltd. By association, they belittle the very nature of public/private partnerships, because they reveal that Government wants the rewards, but will play with the risks when it suits. DaFT^» (Department for Transport - critical sounding abbreviation I discourage - about), under the aegis of Lord Adonis, has created this paradigm of how to do major infrastructure, and the model was endorsed by the first (ineffectual IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion)) minister Justine Greening, and the second (very effectual IMHO) Patrick McLoughlin. This from a natural Labour voter. The best thing to do is to to finalise the guesstimate of costs, then tell HS2's boss Alison Munro to get on with it. If she does it on time and on budget, she gets a mighty bonus. If she doesn't, then she gets strung out to dry.

Nice little short-term earner for SGDC.

Did somebody mention "Drink!"?

I'll get my coat...

At the risk of thread drift, may I add my compliments to yours, GT? I have been slapped down a time or two, with justification, but I have learned a great deal here, and had the pleasure of the company of some of the other members of the forum, over appropriate refreshments.

I have a nightmare, that Brian Allinson will still be in charge of transport in 25 years time. Metrobust is the only game in town because of the failure of Bristol and South Gloucester to work together properly. It is the booby prize for getting it wrong. I have absolutely nothing against buses, but spending nearly ^200 million on a road building scheme, then pretending it's all about public transport, is just wrong. Bristol has no shortage of roads or buses, but they are not the first choice of transport for most people. Metrobust will do little or nothing to change that. Building new roads will never lead to reduced traffic anywhere except in the minds of WEP's members.

As for helicopters, my first flying instructor held the view that your life depends on one nut. Or two, if you include the pilot. My son-in-law mends them for a living, and had a recent white-knuckle ride around Dartmoor as a reward. The results of his handiwork are visible here. I love the technique of the departure - lift the chopper 6 feet off the floor, hold it there, have a quick butcher's at the T's and P's*, then if you like what you see, carry on. I'll stick to fixed wing, thank you! To keep this "on thread", I have included an overhead shot of BPW^» (Bristol Parkway - next trains). WEP would be proud of me.

(*Temperatures and pressures)

And that, grahame, is a very fair, civilised, friendly, and helpful attitude, and one of a number of reasons why the Coffee Shop stands out above others.

I think Horfield's big problem is the depth of the cutting it was situated in:



It would not be easy, especially with accessibility for disabled passengers.

West of England Partnership is, IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion), holding back improvements in public transport, so that its hated Metrobust project does not look even more rubbish than it already does. Bristol Post reports the latest attempt to scupper the whole thing, in the form of a possible judicial review by Stop BRT2. Mayor Ferguson has changed his tune since his election.

Nor did I until Chris offered the link to "another place".

Not any more.

We, as a forum, have slipped into the error of criticising the IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) project's rolling stock because even if the platforms at Euston and Birmingham were lengthened, it could not provide a cheaper alternative to HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)). The two projects are massive, both in terms of delivery and of cost. They are intended to achieve different outcomes.

IEP and the conjoined twins of GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and ECML^▸ (East Coast Main Line) electrification are primarily to allow the replacement of the HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) with an electric option. Doing nothing would mean either commissioning yet another high-speed diesel series - the HSTs were meant to fill the gap between steam and electricity, remember. Or we could refurbish 30-year-plus-old trains yet again, or give up on high speed rail for those routes entirely. The secondary objectives are to increase capacity, speed up journeys, and reduce the environmental impact of rail travel. A tertiary effect will be the cascading of stock of reasonable standard, for use on services such as the proposed Greater Bristol Metro.

HS2, despite the misnomer, is primarily to add capacity to passenger and goods services between north and south by means of a brand new railway, capable of high speed. The secondary objectives are faster journey times, the reduction of emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants per tonne of payload, a reduction in internal air travel, and a whole lot of jobs in construction, engineering, and property law.

HS2 is not really a big bang, but it is more than a mere wet fart - probably best described as a medium sized bang. It draws a number of lines. No new railway, other than the odd short chord to connect two bits, will use anything other than electricity as the source of motive power. The days of locomotive power for passenger transport are over, as surely as steam will serve only the fantastic and brilliand heritage sector, and the EMU^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) will rule the roost henceforth. They have no fixed length, other than the platforms they serve. The cost of extending those in a working station is huge.