HS2 - Government proposals, alternative routes and general discussion

[whole diary]

[Rhydgaled]

I can't find the link now but I have seen a very good video on why HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) benefits Aberystwyth.  It is because services cannot be increased to Aberystwyth because of lack of capacity between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. 

The key point is that removing high speed non-stop services from mixed traffic lines releases far more paths than the number of trains transferred.

While the general point is valid, the specific example is not; services cannot be increased to Aberystwyth, regardless of capacity east of Wolverhampton, because of long single track sections, shortage of rolling stock and possibly lack of train crew.

Also, I'm not sure how many (if any) services between Wolverhampton and Birmingham are likely to transfer to HS2 - in many cases it seems it would be useful to keep the current Pendolino/Voyager services just with more calls at stations like Milton Keynes added. I hope some capacity is freed up along that stretch though and used to allow the current indirect slow Birmingham-Holyhead services to be split into Birmingham-Wrexham/Chester and faster Birmingham-Stafford-Crewe-Chester N.Wales services.

What good is Trans Pennine electrification that is not electrified between Stalybridge and Huddersfield.  Looks more like two schemes one for Manchester suburban electrification and another for Leeds suburban electrification.

I thought that, as well as reinstating the MML^» (Midland Main Line. - about) electrification, the Integrated Rail Plan also stated an intent to electrify between Stalybridge and Huddersfield.

[grahame]

I can't find the link now but I have seen a very good video on why HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) benefits Aberystwyth.  It is because services cannot be increased to Aberystwyth because of lack of capacity between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. 

The key point is that removing high speed non-stop services from mixed traffic lines releases far more paths than the number of trains transferred.

While the general point is valid, the specific example is not; services cannot be increased to Aberystwyth, regardless of capacity east of Wolverhampton, because of long single track sections, shortage of rolling stock and possibly lack of train crew.

I'm neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the Abersytwth case ... but is strikes me that improvements may need to be made all along a route, and where HS2 may help the London end of some services / flows, other issues further "out" are going to become more critical.   Remove one bottleneck and you get a new one elsewhere.

HS2 will not "magic" you rolling stock or crews ... but it will enable your extra rolling stock and crews when separately provided to run more easily into New Street and beyond to International as and when conflicting train movements are thinned out with the re-opening of Curzon Street and re-growth of Moor Street. It's a network!

[TaplowGreen]

.....It seems the tentacles reach everywhere........

https://www.building.co.uk/news/russian-oligarch-linked-to-putin-has-stake-in-firm-building-hs2/5116338.article#.YiHqrdZtxoQ.twitter

[TaplowGreen]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/04/02/hs2-firm-treats-concerned-residents-nuisance-warns-watchdog/?fr=operanews


The firm behind HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) has treated concerned residents as a "nuisance" and with a "lack of respect" rather than properly addressing their complaints, an official watchdog has warned.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Rob Behrens, the parliamentary and health service ombudsman, highlighted HS2 Ltd as an example of publicly-owned bodies routinely treating taxpayers without compassion.

The intervention came after he issued a report concluding that the firm was "dishonest, misleading and inconsistent" in its dealings with a family whose home it was attempting to purchase to make way for the rail line.

Mr Behrens wants bodies such as HS2 Ltd to adopt a universal set of standards for dealing with complaints from the public.

He is also calling for the watchdog he leads, which investigates complaints about government bodies and the NHS, to be given powers to initiate its own investigations where they appear required. Currently, it only investigates individual cases that have been referred by MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament).

He said: "I know from the work that I've done, looking at and talking to my counterparts in 50 or 60 different countries, that they would regard the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) as being 10 or 15 years behind them ... In Africa, in Europe and other parts of the world, you have direct access to the ombudsman. You don't here. They have their own initiative powers."

He warned that problems highlighted by the Ockenden Review into poor care at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital's maternity unit were also found in bodies such as HS2 and the Home Office and needed to be urgently addressed.

Discussing the report published by the ombudsman last year, Mr Behrens said: "The HS2 complaints system was sub-optimal. It didn't treat the people affected that were dealt with with sufficient respect. It changed the rules of looking into complaints in a way that disorientated the complainant.

"And the complainant, broadly speaking, was treated as a nuisance rather than a service user who had experienced very difficult issues.

[TaplowGreen]

Further cuts to HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s))?

https://www.messengernewspapers.co.uk/news/20062398.sir-graham-bradys-delight-assurances-hs2-link-scrapped/?ref=twtrec

[stuving]

Further cuts to HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s))?

https://www.messengernewspapers.co.uk/news/20062398.sir-graham-bradys-delight-assurances-hs2-link-scrapped/?ref=twtrec

Probably not. Where HS2 rejoins the WCML^▸ (West Coast Main Line) north of Crewe is still being looked at, and if the Union Review is anything to go by it's not the favourite any more - if anything HS2 will be lengthened!

However, the ‘Golborne Link’ does not resolve all of the identified issues. The suitability of alternative connections between HS2 and the WCML have been considered by the Review. The emerging evidence suggests that an alternative connection to the WCML, for example at some point south of Preston, could offer more benefits and an opportunity to reduce journey times by two to three minutes more than the ‘Golborne Link’. However, more work is required to better understand the case for and against such options.

From P41; see this thread or the report.

If it is close to Preston it would be much further north, though I guess it could be anywhere along that bit of the line (Golborne-Preston is 20 miles).

All this comes down to is what Shapps said to Brady. If it was a statement about the future, it was not factual. Given he's the SoS, the simple future would carry some kind of well-founded prediction - "I'm pretty sure that's what we'll do when the study is finished". Even if it is vaguer - "I'd be suprised if" - it could be carried off in triumph as a promise.

Would Shapps really overrule his technical advice for such a party reason? Well, it wouldn't exactly destroy your faith in this government's probity if he did, would it? If he's only following that advice, would he want to claim credit locally for it? Almost certainly, but for this bunch that barely even rates as venal.

[TonyK]

Venal, venial, or both?

Golborne was probably chosen because it is the least hard option. Joining WCML^▸ (West Coast Main Line) further north would entail finding a way around Wigan and across or under more railway in a few places. There would also need to be more HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) built across land that hasn't been surveyed for it and which contains country parks, nature reserves, and probably more newts than usual, which would be likely to cost a lot extra and start a whole new round of protests. Shapps could possibly do it and call it the "Brady Extension" to deflect blame, and join WCML near Coppull, but there are several cans of worms that would need opening first. Scrapping the link altogether must be a non-starter, given the chance to stick some Scotland-bound traffic on HS2 to ease pressure on WCML.

Shapps could even be in a new job (or out of the current one) by the time a decision is made. He's got Portishead to sign off first.

[infoman]

LIVE from the Colne Valley in west london on tuesday 31 May,its one hell of a big bridge/crossing.

[Red Squirrel]

I've merged infoman's post  here to keep everything together.

[Red Squirrel]

HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)): Work begins on 'UK^▸ (United Kingdom)'s longest railway bridge' in Buckinghamshire


The Colne Valley Viaduct will carry the high-speed rail line over the Colne Valley Park near Denham in Buckinghamshire

Work has begun on the HS2 project's Colne Valley Viaduct which is designed to be the UK's longest railway bridge.

The structure, at 3.4km (2.1 miles) in length, will carry the high-speed rail line over the Colne Valley Park near Denham in Buckinghamshire.

A 700-tonne machine will lift 1,000 concrete segments for the arched bridge into place - each the size of a double decker bus.

HS2 Ltd said it was a "big milestone" for the project.

...article continues

Source: BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

[Mark A]

But... but... the London and Greenwich railway viaduct is longer - by about 2km.

Mark

[TaplowGreen]

A bit more removed.....


https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/removing-the-golborne-link-from-the-hs2-bill?fbclid=IwAR0WLUkG93y5KFF3foauNZrjIfxpVrGTYmeLNJWUwDdX21USK8tlQleIrWQ

[Sixty3Closure]

I was never convinced by the argument for HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) but it does feel that all the 'cost saving' changes are going undermine the argument for it even further.

And so much for levelling up and Northern Powerhouse...

[TonyK]

A bit more removed.....


https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/removing-the-golborne-link-from-the-hs2-bill?fbclid=IwAR0WLUkG93y5KFF3foauNZrjIfxpVrGTYmeLNJWUwDdX21USK8tlQleIrWQ

Listening to the news on the radio this evening, I got the distinct impression that running HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) trains as far as Manchester Airport before continuing along the existing route to join the WCML^▸ (West Coast Main Line) near Leyland was under consideration. If so, that is a disaster all round. It's about 37 from Euxton Junction to the airport, a journey that takes around an hour along a route that sees more and more traffic as it nears the centre of Manchester. That's a far cry from 250 mph, and a longer distance to boot.

From the point of view of having a high speed railway offering benefits to the north western bit of England and to Scotland, this decision looks absurd, although it may save one campaigning Conservative MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) from losing his seat. An alternative high speed route to the same point in WCML or thereabouts avoiding major conurbations is far from easy to spot on a map. Some will draw the conclusion that this, along with scrapping the eastern leg of HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail, along with prevarication over Portishead and other smaller schemes, shows a government unwilling to spend money on any significant rail projects.

[TaplowGreen]

Euston going from "World Class" to "functional"

https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/hs2/hs2-abandons-world-class-euston-ambitions-for-highly-functional-approach-30-06-2022/