Links to some HS2 summer newsletters

Aylesbury area

https://assets.hs2.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/NC2A-North-Newsletter-Summer-2025-v2.pdf

North Chilterns area

https://assets.hs2.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/NCA-Summer-Newsletter-2025-to-publish-2.pdf

Calvert area

https://assets.hs2.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/HS2-Calvert-Area-Summer-Newsletter-2025.pdf

Twyford-Greatworth (Brackley) area

https://assets.hs2.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/T2G-HS2-Newsletter-Summer-2025.pdf

Greatwoth-Southam area

https://assets.hs2.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Greatworth-to-Southam-HS2-Newsletter-Summer-2025.pdf

Lots of updates, photos, and expected work in next few months.

 
Enjoy Gorlitz. I went on a Sunday in April 2018 when the temperature was 35C !! ....from Berlin HBF changing at Cottbus on a 44 euro weekender ticket. Trains were clean, comfortable and on time.
The walk down from the station was lovely, downhill to the pedestrian bridge outside the Cathedral that takes you across into Poland to the Zgorzelec side of the city. It was split between Germany and Poland after 1945 as part of German reparations after WW2.

The contrast between the 2 sides was staggering. The German side had been beautifully restored rather like the restoration of Wernigerode in the Harz East Germany. The Polish side was deserted except for one family in their Sunday best, and it had a real frontier border feel to it and  we all watched the tumbleweed blowing about.

I was there for the organ recital in the cathedral that follows morning mass every Sunday. It is dubbed the Sonnenorgel or Sunshine organ as the case has many suns carved into it and gilded in such way that they shimmered in the midday sun. It's a large but not typical German cathedral organ as it has several imitation or toy stops. There were 2 tiny pipes in a  water filled bowl that sounded like a nightingale!

I was told that the the large economic differential between Poland and Germany meant that the Poles came into Gorlitz in the morning to work....to take advantage of the higher wages paid in euros.....while the Germans crossed over into Poland throughout the day for shops and restaurants because the prices in  zloty were  so much cheaper than the euro!

It was a unforgettable day trip. I would have loved to have taken a trip to Leipzig station but ran out of time !

 

Yes "wellho.net" is on an old / (not and probably won't be https) server. I am now using "wellho.info" for images and as I hit the images in my old threads I am updating the links.

 
It’s a bit of a surprise all those houses in Wolvercote haven’t collapsed yet.

 
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

 

I've been getting frequent bleats (last one on Sunday) from Bitdefender saying:

I assumed that was a link somewhere in a forum page. But those are quite common from all sorts of sites, sometimes just a one-off until a minder gets a reminder, or sometimes persistently.

 
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-review

The Chancellor should've cancelled the entire project rather than throw more money at it. The asseement was probably that it's too far gone, not physically but politically, to cancel.

What's the scientific name for HS2?

album elephanto pretiosa

 
Wednesday June 18

1W11 05:53 Paddington to Great Malvern was started from Reading "due to an issue with the train crew (TH)" [RTT]


12:06 : Short-working of 12:52 has been removed from JourneyCheck.

13:20 : 1W01 0952 London Paddington to Hereford was delayed in the Oxford area. It was +23 by Malvern Link and was cancelled after Great Malvern.

 
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

 

Yes, it is based entirely on the scheduled arrival time against the actual arrival time

 

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. 

 
More delay, more cost............

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy0wr7nw7wxo

 
Description

A fault with the signalling system at Slough means that Elizabeth line trains must run at a reduced speed on some lines. Services operating through Slough may be delayed by up to 15 minutes or cancelled.

Disruption is expected until 12:15

 
Further analysis suggests certificate issues with changes made elsewhere ... I think I have fixed them for the Coffee Shop but you may still get some offputting reports - if so after about 8 a.m. please let me know.   My first "cure" test made in worse (more frightening) rather than better and for an hour or so that may have been cached!

 
It comes down to attitude of mind. "Always look on the bright side of life". I could write about [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] but I won't. I am writing on the final leg of my land based public transport journey from Melksham to Gorlitz - I set off from home yesterday lunchtime, and I'm arriving this afternoon [and posted next morning]. 9 trains and 1 bus. Got a seat on every one, and as a bonus a up of coffee on one as well. Marvellous scenery and pictures and a handful of brief encounters with other travellers.  In fact so many pictures I don't know which to share.

Perhaps my quickest connection ever - 2 minutes at Leipzig and clearly it was a regular race around for the regulars too from platform 12 to 9.  Reminded me of the 06:32's sorta connection to Weymouth which also has a number of sprinters and also usually works.

The Ibis Budget in Leuven is perhaps the closest hotel I have ever booked to a station - not actually in the station but towering up beside the subway exit

Enjoying the early morning in Leuven with a wonderful cup of WMF coffee and a roll that felt so fresh it was just out of the oven - even though breakfast did not start officially until 5 minutes after the train left (and it was on time). Admiring the stations at Leuven and half an hour later in Liege.

Scenery - flat countries and rolling hill, crossing over rivers, high over valleys and through tunnels. Crossing rivers and seeing other trains, rolling stock are railway architecture.

Taking in the ethos and atmosphere at stations at Melksham and Paddington and Kings Cross and St Pancras.  At Leuven and Liege, Frankfurt Hbf and Cottbus. Swindon, Brussel and Leipzig too brief to enjoy.

Learning how intermediate stations can work and people can change in all directions when lines cross each other - a lesson for Yeovil perhaps.  And learning how a clock face hourly service even in rural counties generate passenger traffic.

Having a train pull up again as it started (it just happened as I typed) to let a final passenger jump on. Seeing level access for cycles and wheelchairs that don't need a ramp and don't leave a gap between the platform and train. Seeing just how many bicycles can come out of a short train, and just how many passenger can fit without overcrowding.

Seeing how quickly 2 trains can pass each other on a single line - lessons for Yeovil and Maiden Newton again.

Contrasting how staff in different places keep customers informed of delays and how those customers react

Watching how in Cottbus - a town about half the size of Swindon - Trains, buses, cycles and trams all integrate at a station that's modern, light and airy and offers a range of retail outlets at sensible prices to it becomes a true community hub and not just a place to pass through

And realising how I am and we are when I see others struggling to get around.

I had better tell you what I am not telling you about, hadn't I?
1 - train a few minutes late, connection failed, Cottbus
2 - lights not working in hotel room
3 - promised coffee service on GWR never arrived
4 - 205 bus service cancelled
5 - Kicking screaming toddler on Eurostar
6 - Long security queue then no space in waiting room at St Pancras
7 - Worst possible seating and train time on Eurostar

Arrived at my accommodation at 17:50.  Plan had been 17:15 - not bad!  Hosts had asked me to let them know an hour ahead my e.t.a which I had done and a whole new story starts.

 

I take all reports of security issues very seriously. Looking further into this right now away.

My initial educated guess, based on the evidence you have provided, was that there is possibly a link somewhere that I missed in updating last December and / or Chrome has updated and / or one or more certificates have expired.   Analysis suggests the latter two; our certificates have limited life and some have expired. I have just renewed a couple of the key ones - see if that works for the message (it will probably not fix the unread topics not being properly reported)

I am not worried, but I am very interested.   Whilst we look to make all transactions though https these days,  it's still less than 6 months we've being doing so and - you may recall - the main reason we did so was as a re-assurance; the Coffee Shop does not collect payments or personal data which needed that extra layer. Still worth having the layer but no panic needed.

I will be very interested in feedback from other members to help me analyse and gain more evidence - either a pattern of problems or a deathening silence which would suggest it's cured or a very specific issue.
 

 

I would urge the purchase of an LPG or paraffin burning room heater and fuel for at least a weeks use, 2 or 3 weeks would be better.
A possible alternative would be a backup power supply for the existing gas central heating, either a battery and inverter or a generator. That of course gives no protection against a gas supply failure.

 
I've been getting this message a few times recently when I go to my saved bookmark https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?action=unread

Anything to be worried about? If I simply refresh the page it loads but sometimes shows no unread topics even though its been 24 hours or more since I last visited the site.

 
https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/footage-released-of-east-west-rails-first-commercial-freight-train

 
I also need to panic-buy 5L of fuel for the lawnmower. What I bought last year is almost gone. The next one will be battery unless I buy a new house with substantially more lawn. Gas for heating isn't an issue at the moment. We're snookered if the electricity goes in the middle of winter - probably go stay with our daughter and her log burner. That or spend the day in bed with Mrs K. It was fun during the last power cuts.

 
And this afternoon, the halts train and its return working have been cancelled.

 
A ~20 minute programme on the line, from ITV.

Mark

https://www.itv.com/watch/news/catch-up-on-border-life/8b00hx2

 
Thanks Mark - so it's the delay in getting to the final destination that counts? Makes sense of course; I'll give it a go.

 
£38.50?

Mark

 
Today my wife had an Advance Single ticket from Swansea to Melksham, with a change at Swindon - £38.50. The Swansea-Swindon train was delayed by about 20 mins, so she missed the 5 min connection.

As the 2nd leg was a TransWilts to Melksham, the next train would have been nearly 2 hours later (assuming it wasn't cancelled ). So she caught the next mainline train to Chippenham and I drove over to pick her up from there.

So what is she entitled to claim for - the ~20 min delay in arriving at Swindon, or what would have been a 2 hour delay had she waited for the next Melksham train?

EDIT: I'd put ~15 min in the last line, corrected to ~20

 
There's a lift also from platform 1 up to the overbridge at the open end of the station too, rather than the schlep around past platform 12....