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Bob_Blakey
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« Reply #1860 on: April 25, 2025, 13:37:00 » |
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The entire built-up area of Wendover is separated from the HS2▸ route, a chunk of which will be hidden in the Wendover Green Tunnel, by the A413. Planning application 25/00406/APP shows that the chamber was proposed to be located on farmland to the NW of Wendover and it appears that it was the Kings Farm track which could have been extended to provide access.
Personally, given the cost so far, I would have approved a new direct access from the A413 with a bridge over the railway.
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TonyK
Global Moderator
Hero Member
Posts: 6752
The artist formerly known as Four Track, Now!
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« Reply #1861 on: April 25, 2025, 19:58:47 » |
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This could prove calamitous for Bucks CC if HS2▸ appeals and wins.
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Now, please!
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #1862 on: April 26, 2025, 08:22:50 » |
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This could prove calamitous for Bucks CC if HS2▸ appeals and wins.
Calamity and HS2 are never far apart. |
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #1864 on: May 09, 2025, 20:30:26 » |
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From the BBC» : HS2▸ tunnel machine breaks through for milestone
A giant HS2 boring machine has broken through to complete the first section of a three and-a-half mile (5.6km) tunnel on the route's approach into Birmingham.
The 125m (137yd) long, 1,600-tonne machine emerged on Friday morning after 652 days and nights of construction work.
The device was named Mary Ann by the local community in a nod to the Warwickshire-born writer George Eliot, which was the pen name of Mary Ann Evans.
The tunnel is the first of two bores of the Bromford Tunnel, running from Water Orton in north Warwickshire to Washwood Heath in Birmingham, passing under the area's motorway network and the River Tame. The breakthrough - HS2's first in Birmingham - was described by officials as a "significant milestone" for the line.
About 31,000 people are employed on the programme across the 140-mile (225km) route.
An HS2 spokesperson estimated that the second bore of the Bromford Tunnel would be completed later this year by another tunnel boring machine, this one named Elizabeth, after the social reformer and activist Dame Elizabeth Cadbury.
[Image from here is not available to guests]
Following the excavation, teams will begin fitting out the tunnel with cross passages, concrete finishing works, base slabs and emergency and maintenance walkways.
At peak production, Mary Ann advanced at about 30m (98ft) each day, with teams reinforcing the tunnel with more than 20,000 pieces of concrete.
"Today's breakthrough is a significant milestone for the project and I'm immensely proud of the men and women who have worked day and night to bring Mary Ann and her crew home safely," said Mark Wild, HS2 Ltd's chief executive. "Washwood Heath is set to become one of the most important sites on the entire HS2 network - the point at which the railway will be operated, controlled and maintained using the very latest digital technology."
Mary Ann dug out about a million tonnes of soil to create the structure, which will become the longest railway tunnel in the West Midlands. The earth which was excavated will be reused to support construction of a nearby network of 13 viaducts, officials added.
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William Huskisson MP▸ 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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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #1865 on: May 16, 2025, 16:26:24 » |
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Witham Bobby
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« Reply #1866 on: May 19, 2025, 10:55:18 » |
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The only HS2▸ train running in this decade is an enormous gravy train
This nation has "complianced" herself into an incapability to run infrastructure projects. See also Hinckley Point, etc.
A nation, once full of energy and zeal, that built railway lines all over the globe, is now unable to build a 140 mile railway between two of her great cities
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #1867 on: June 14, 2025, 11:45:04 » |
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From Rail Advent: Significant progress in excavating 8.4-mile-long HS2▸ tunnel under London - June 2025
[Image from here is not available to guests]
Further significant progress in excavating the 8.4-mile-long Northolt Tunnel for HS2 was made when the third of four tunnel boring machines completed its work in the tunnel last Friday, 6th June.
Emily made the breakthrough after completing a 3.4-mile drive at Green Park Way in Greenford, west London, and the fourth TBM, Anne, is due to finish its boring this summer.
The second bore was completed by TBM Caroline in April this year.
Emily was named after Emily Sophia Taylor, who helped establish the Perivale Maternity Hospital in 1937 before becoming Ealing’s first female mayor in 1938.
It was launched in February 2024 and worked on one bore of the eastern section of the tunnel, from where it removed 775,000 tonnes of London Clay and installed 17,514 tunnel segments.
Four TBMs are being used to construct the Northolt Tunnel, with two TBMs building the eastern section from Victoria Road in North Acton and two TBMs building the western section from West Ruislip. Each TBM will finish its task at Green Park Way, from where it will be lifted out from its underground shaft.
Because of high water pressure in the ground at the Green Park Way site, the TBMs are finishing their drives in a reception can in the shaft, which allows pressure to be maintained while sealant is applied from the tunnel lining to prevent water ingress.
Emily was designed specifically for the soft London Clay of the tunnel. Built by Herrenknecht in Germany, it weighs 1,700 tonnes and has a 9.11m diameter cutterhead.
Three teams of 48 employed by HS2’s London Tunnels contractor, Skanska Costain STRABAG JV, worked around the clock to bore the tunnel, with Emily advancing at around 38 metres per day at peak production.
Excavated clay was removed from the tunnel on a conveyor system to the London Logistics Hub at Willesden Euro Terminal, then transported by rail and reused at sites in Cambridgeshire, Kent and Warwickshire.
The excavated tunnel shaft was lined with concrete segments, each weighing up to 7 tonnes, and made at Hartlepool in County Durham by STRABAG.
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William Huskisson MP▸ 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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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #1868 on: June 15, 2025, 19:35:02 » |
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From the BBC» : HS2▸ reports subcontractor over alleged fraud
The company building the HS2 rail line between London and Birmingham has reported one of its subcontractors to the tax authorities over possible fraud.
Whistleblowers made allegations over the way pay was handled for some construction staff on the high-speed line.
HS2 Ltd said last month it was conducting its own investigation, looking into two firms who supplied it with workers. The company has now also referred the matter to HMRC.
The firms in question were providing workers to Balfour Beatty Vinci (BBV), a contractor for HS2.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is expected to raise the issue in Parliament this week. It is the latest difficulty to beset the troubled giant rail infrastructure project.
HS2 has faced myriad challenges and spiralling costs since it was first announced in 2009.
It was originally designed to boost capacity on the railways between the north and south of England but the last, Conservative, government decided to scrap the second phase of the project, which included building lines to Manchester and Leeds.
Earlier this year whistleblowers flagged concerns over the way some subcontracted staff were being paid. They said self-employed workers had been falsely declared as salaried staff, with "fake" payslips submitted at a higher payrate. The allegations were first published in the i newspaper in May.
One of the labour suppliers is understood to remain suspended from new contracts while inquiries continue.
An HS2 spokesperson said: "We treat all whistleblower allegations seriously and are continuing to conduct our own investigation."
The firm said it encouraged anyone with relevant information to report it via confidential internal channels.
The Department for Transport said last month it had "a zero-tolerance attitude towards fraud, bribery, and corruption" and would ensure any claims of wrongdoing were thoroughly investigated.
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William Huskisson MP▸ 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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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #1869 on: June 18, 2025, 07:44:46 » |
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ellendune
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« Reply #1870 on: June 18, 2025, 08:34:37 » |
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Yes and we know who to blame now politicians who didn't know how to govern. Clearing up their mess seems a good description here. |
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Witham Bobby
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« Reply #1871 on: June 18, 2025, 11:22:18 » |
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A couple of days a week I drive up the M42 and back for work. Sometimes also travel around the Hams Hall area, on the A446.
This area is where the HS2▸ line will have junctions to take trains into Birmingham Curzon Street and out again, on towards Lichfield, where there will be a junction onto the WCML▸
I've watched progress for months and months, building (so far) one overbridge, and mile upon mile of piers for what will be viaducts. I can't help thinking that the job has been specified to include all the "nice to haves", and not kept to the basics. I'm not a civil engineer, but I suspect that viaducts are multiple times more costly than embankments
I just wonder who (if anyone) is in charge of what and how much is being spent on what
The whole thing smacks of politicos not wanting to get themselves a bad reputation on spending or specification grounds, so they've handed it over to an arms length contracting system, without proper oversight. There is no one to carry the can for when things go wrong. everyone concerned can point at everyone else. The story of modern government in the UK▸
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JayMac
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« Reply #1872 on: June 18, 2025, 11:58:04 » |
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An additional £25bn is being thrown into this money pit. Quietly slipped into the Spending Review. Rachel Reeves decided not to mention this massive contribution to infrastructure spending when she gave her speech to the house. I wonder why? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/13/labour-hs2-money-rachel-reeves-spending-reviewThe Chancellor should've cancelled the entire project rather than throw more money at it. The assessment was probably that it's too far gone, not physically but politically, to cancel. What's the scientific name for HS2▸ ? album elephanto pretiosa |
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« Last Edit: June 18, 2025, 20:15:29 by JayMac »
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Dalmeny Caterham Shiplake Tonbridge Theale Carlisle Petts Wood
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John D
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« Reply #1873 on: June 18, 2025, 12:10:43 » |
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The rescheduling and re specifying things has not only pushed up costs by billions, it has made complete mockery of timescale.
There are you tube videos showing some sections have finished the earthworks and structures and are being landscaped. Only one TBM is now working (at Bromford), all the others have finished. But they have disbanded the crews rather than start the 2 Euston TBMs which are ready to go. Politicians don't understand basic continuity to save money.
There are set of newsletters, and these suggest in next few months many more new bridges will be in use, and the earthworks completed where there are currently old roads and deviations blocking the way.
Of course, big question is what has been gained by having some sections built (ready for fit out ) by mid 2026 if other parts have been deliberately/carelessly delayed upto 5 years
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John D
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« Reply #1874 on: June 18, 2025, 14:16:53 » |
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