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Author Topic: HS2 - Government proposals, alternative routes and general discussion  (Read 394083 times)
Timmer
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« Reply #165 on: April 12, 2010, 05:59:30 »

Perhaps the money would be far better spent nationwide.
Exactly
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IanC
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« Reply #166 on: April 26, 2010, 02:31:15 »

The route of High Speed 2 was featured on this weeksCountryfile
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Henry
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« Reply #167 on: April 26, 2010, 09:07:47 »


  Watched Countryfile yesterday, have some sympathy with the residents in the Cotswolds.
 
   I lived in rural Kent when the M25 was constructed quite a few years back.
   Surprised the 'impartial' BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) featured this, bearing in mind an election due.
   Perhaps the 'country gentry' still has some media influence.
 
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« Reply #168 on: April 26, 2010, 10:42:11 »

Think you meant Chilterns, Henry.

The 'country gentry' featured a family who had moved out of London two years ago. Wonder where and how they get to work?

Initially, I thought the feature on Countryfile was unduly biased toward the NIMBYs, however there was a balanced response from a rail analyst. (Who wasn't Christian Wolmar - he must've been busy!)
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #169 on: May 20, 2010, 20:36:18 »

From the BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Quote
Groups unite against high-speed rail link

More than 30 groups against a proposed high-speed rail link have joined forces to fight the plan.
A route between London and Birmingham with a future extension to northern England and Scotland was announced by the former Labour government in March.
The new Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition government has committed to the scheme but not said what the route should be.
But groups in Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Buckinghamshire have vowed to fight it.
They have united under the name HS2 (The next High Speed line(s)) Action Alliance which is "working for fair and just compensation".
Announcing the plans earlier this year, former Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said subject to public consultation, trains would run from Euston to Birmingham with interchange stations west of Paddington and near Birmingham airport.
The preferred route would pass through north-west London, the south-west of Aylesbury, then to the west of Buckingham and the east of Brackley and Banbury, before passing between Leamington Spa and Coventry and heading into the eastern side of Birmingham.
The proposal also includes a connection with the existing rail network near Lichfield, Staffordshire.
Work is unlikely to start until 2017 at the earliest.
But residents have said they are upset at the effect the route will have on their homes and livelihoods.
Separate protest groups have been formed since the plans were announced but now, they have decided to merge.
Graham Long, from HS2 Action Alliance told BBC News that working together was the best way to act.
"It's vital," he said. "We need to speak with one voice. We also need to raise the funds to be able to employ the sort professional help that we will have to deploy against government."
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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #170 on: May 27, 2010, 22:03:53 »

From the Witney Gazette:

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MPs (Member of Parliament) join forces to press for rail link

Three MPs have joined forces to press the new Government over proposals for the high speed rail link.

In March the then Secretary of State for Transport Lord Adonis announced that the Government plans to build a new High Speed 2 line reducing journey times between London and Birmingham and on to Scotland.

The new line is expected to cost over ^15.8bn and is set to use the track route of the former Great Central Railway line passing by Finmere and Mixbury, near Bicester.

But as the new Conservative Liberal Democrat coalition Government start work local MPs have questioned if the line will go ahead.

North Oxfordshire MP Tony Baldry, John Bercow, Buckingham MP and speaker of the House of Commons, and Andrea Leadsom, MP for the new South Northants constituency, have formed a plan of action which includes meeting ministers and encouraging action groups that are dotted along the proposed route to join up.

Mr Baldry and Mrs Leadson hope to have talks with Theresa Villiers, minister of state for transport, and Mr Bercow will call on Philip Hammond, Secretary of State for transport, to visit Buckingham.

Mr Baldry said: ^We met on how best to take forward constituents^ concerns about the High Speed Railway. We need to know whether this project is a reality or whether it was in fact hype by the previous Government to get a good press in Birmingham and the West Midlands, especially given it^s quite clear from the last chief secretary Liam Byrne, and I quote, ^m afraid there^s no money^. It seems to me the Government has got to make it very clear, very early, whether it is proceeding with the project or not. A considerable amount of property will be blighted and the Government is responsible for that blight. The important priority is to discover whether or not this is a viable project and if it^s going to move forward or if it was just a pre-election aspiration.^

The move has been welcomed by Finmere resident Mike Kerford-Byrnes, who is also chairman of the parish council.

He said: ^That^s great news, the fact they have all got together and are encouraging campaign groups to join up. I think they will be tapping into a rich seam as between the two parliaments there has been considerable activity amongst groups along the line with considerable co-operation.^
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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
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« Reply #171 on: July 21, 2010, 16:46:43 »

The Mahwinney report today now rejects a Heathrow link until at least after HS2 (The next High Speed line(s)) reaches Manchester. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/21/heathrow-link-london-scotland-railway
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« Reply #172 on: July 21, 2010, 21:30:54 »

Thanks for the link grandsire.  It'll be interesting to hear how the ConLib's react to that report given that it goes against the Tories HS (High Speed (short for HSS (High Speed Services) High Speed Services)) ideas and conforms in a large part with Labour's oroginal ambitions!
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« Reply #173 on: July 22, 2010, 20:57:00 »

High speed rail access to Heathrow: a report by Lord Mawhinney
 http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/pi/highspeedrail/lordmawhinneyreport/                                                                                             
"I recommend that serious consideration be given to making Old Oak Common the initial London terminal for the high speed line".

"I have concluded and recommend that, in the early stages of a high speed rail network, there is no compelling case for a direct high speed rail link to Heathrow, and that a London-Old Oak Common interchange".
 Thoughts.
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« Reply #174 on: July 22, 2010, 21:08:56 »

Seems eminently sensible to me - access to Old Oak from Heathrow by rail is trivial and there's even a purpose-built depot for servicing and maintaining high-speed trains located nearby that's doing nothing much at the moment...
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« Reply #175 on: July 22, 2010, 21:09:30 »

Thanks for your link to the actual report, woody: I've merged your topic with an existing one, where this is already being discussed.

C.  Smiley
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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
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« Reply #176 on: August 20, 2010, 11:04:38 »

From the BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Quote
High speed rail compensation scheme begins

The compensation scheme for people affected by the proposed High Speed Rail link between London and Birmingham is due to be launched. Anyone who urgently needs to sell their property but cannot because of the proposed line will be able to apply for the government to buy their home. An independent panel is being set up which will look at applications on a case-by-case basis. But there are fears the criteria may be too strict, and that some may miss out.

The proposed route for a high speed rail link between London and Birmingham was announced in March.

People found out if their homes would be bulldozed or whether there'd be a train running at more than 200 miles-per-hour (mph) at the bottom of their garden.

Home issues

The route would go from London's Euston Station, run just south of Aylesbury, between Coventry and Kenilworth, and then into a new station in the Eastside area of Birmingham. The track would be designed to carry trains at up to 250mph, cutting the London to Birmingham journey time to 49 minutes - that's around half an hour less than at present. Trains will be up to 400 metres long, and carry up to 1100 people. Initially there would be up to 14 trains an hour.

But to do that, some people will have to lose their homes and businesses. The Exceptional Hardship Scheme is aimed at people who live on, or very near this proposed route. But it's not for everyone.

The current route is only a proposal and was announced by the previous government. After consultation the new government might decide it wants to use a different route.  So those homes which look at the moment as if they're blighted by the project, might end up being completely unaffected. So today's scheme will only compensate those home-owners who need to sell now, not everyone who might be affected eventually. To be eligible for compensation, people need to demonstrate that need - for example if they're getting divorced or have to move somewhere else for a new job. They also have to have made "reasonable efforts" to sell their property already - this means having it up for sale for at least three months, with no offers over 85% of the pre-high speed rail market price. An independent panel assesses their application, then recommends whether the government should buy the property for the full market value.

Bill and Carolyn Hall are hoping the panel will back their case. Carolyn has multiple sclerosis and they need to sell their home to pay for her care. But after four months on the market they've had no offers.

"I suppose the acid test is that I wouldn't buy it," Bill says. "If it was me coming to have a look and I found out that there was going to be a rail link within 400m I think my interest would cool pretty rapidly."

'Devastated'

Of course many people don't want to sell at all.

Carolyn Hall visits the nearby Weights and Measures gym for help with her MS. That's run by Caroline Owen-Thomas, who's spent 18 years building up the business. But the proposed high speed line runs straight through the middle of her property. Because Caroline doesn't need - or want - to sell, she won't be eligible for the compensation fund. She'll have to wait until the route is finally decided - likely to be late 2011 - and if it remains unchanged she will have her property compulsorily purchased by the government. Caroline found out the news when one of her customers rang to tell her.

"I was completely devastated because all I could think of was this is my home, this is my business," she says. "I've put blood, sweat and tears into this, what will I do?," she adds. "How can they just demolish someone's property? What am I going to do in the future? I don't want to be anywhere else, this is where I want to be."

The government says it is going to look at the statutory compensation arrangements, and may improve them to make sure people like Caroline are compensated properly.

'Challenge'

But there are no easy answers here.

"Government is all about taking difficult decisions," says Transport Secretary Philip Hammond. "It's about balancing the benefits to the nation as a whole, to the economy, with the burdens that individuals and communities will suffer. And the challenge is to get the route which causes the least possible damage for the maximum possible benefit. Now that can never mean that nobody suffers. Our job is to make sure that we fairly compensate those who are disadvantaged by the decisions taken."
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« Reply #177 on: September 02, 2010, 20:19:31 »

From the BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Quote
Anti-high speed rail protester to walk route

A campaigner opposed to the proposed high-speed rail link (HS2 (The next High Speed line(s))) between London and Birmingham has started a walk along the entire route.

Lizzy Williams, 36, who suffered a brain injury in a car crash two years ago, said it would probably take her the whole of September to complete it.

She lives in a rural location just north of Banbury and said the rail proposals would destroy the area.

Fellow campaigners have organised walks to coincide with hers.

Since the car crash, Ms Williams, a former land and project manager for a construction company, has been left with weakness to the left side of her body and the need to get a lot of sleep.

"It has been quite debilitating," she said. "But some campaigners have offered to let me stay with them during the walk and I will go home some nights as well."

Ms Williams is a founding member of campaign group Stop HS2 and discussed the walk with fellow objectors through the internet.

She began at the railway bridge north of Lichfield Golf and Country Club, Staffordshire, which is the northernmost point on the published Department for Transport maps.

She then hopes to include a walk of the Kenilworth Greenway to Burton Green in Warwickshire, with fellow campaigners on Sunday.

On September 11 she hopes to have reached the Battle of Edgcote re-enactment in Chipping Warden, Oxfordshire, and then on to meet fellow campaigners from the Chiltern Society in Amersham.

The proposed railway route was announced in March and is scheduled to go from London's Euston Station, to just south of Aylesbury, up to between Coventry and Kenilworth, and then into a new station in the Eastside area of Birmingham.

The track will be designed to carry trains at up to 250mph, cutting the London to Birmingham journey time to 49 minutes.

Her progress can be followed on the Stop HS2 website.
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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
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« Reply #178 on: October 09, 2010, 13:20:33 »

An interesting 15-page article examining HS2 (The next High Speed line(s)) can be downloaded from the link below:

http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/general/2010/10/09-hs2-unwrapped-major-feature-now.html
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« Reply #179 on: October 09, 2010, 15:41:04 »

An interesting 15-page article examining HS2 (The next High Speed line(s)) can be downloaded from the link below:

http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/general/2010/10/09-hs2-unwrapped-major-feature-now.html

Y or S that is one question and the other what influence the Tory heartland of BucksOxonWar will have on the route
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