HS2, is it right for the UK?

michaels

wotsthat wrote: »

I'm broadly in favour of HS2. It'll be of benefit to the North and will help the UK to be less London-centric. There's possibly going to be station near me and journey time to London will take c45mins which is about half the current time.

Almost as important as the time is the ease of travel. Something as simple as just how convenient a place is to get to can make the difference between investing and not.

Whether it's worth the money is anyone's guess.

Don't see why the current system can't be upgraded too. It's a national embarrassment.

Wasn't the French experience that the rapid Paris-Lyon link actually sucked business that was done in Lyon away to Paris?

bugslet

I dislike going into London so avoid it where possible, but when I do have to for work and get the train, it takes two hours, in which time I can usually do some other work anyway. Cutting 20 or 30 minutes off the journey time really doesn't bother me one way or the other.

shortchanged_2

No, it's a waste of money and it could be better spent elsewhere.

wotsthat wrote: »

I'm broadly in favour of HS2. It'll be of benefit to the North and will help the UK to be less London-centric. There's possibly going to be station near me and journey time to London will take c45mins which is about half the current time.

How would it help the UK be less London centric when all the routes are running to London? Unless there is the argument that people will continue to live in say Leeds and commute to London to work every day.

Percy1983

Yes, the benefits to the UK are far too great to ignore.

wotsthat wrote: »

Don't see why the current system can't be upgraded too. It's a national embarrassment.

It would mean years of delays/diversions/cancellations on the current line as each section is upgraded.

As for cost, it may just add a higher tier, so what as long as it pays for itself.

Likewise if you can't afford it get the 'normal line', if you can't afford that get the national express or megabus.

Mulder00

Yes, the benefits to the UK are far too great to ignore.

I think it's almost become a taboo to talk about investing in infrastructure, which is a shame really.

This has a good cost to benefits ratio and it's investing into something that will hopefully still be around for many years to come.

I say that government should stop doing all these case studies and start building the thing. Look how quickly China built their high speed railway.

shortchanged_2

No, it's a waste of money and it could be better spent elsewhere.

Mulder00 wrote: »

This has a good cost to benefits ratio and it's investing into something that will hopefully still be around for many years to come.

Is it just a figure plucked out of thin air though?

MFW_ASAP

Yes, the benefits to the UK are far too great to ignore.

I think we can safely put Shortchanged in the 'no' camp.

Seems odd to start a discussion thread about a particular topic and then quash any discussion by berating those who have an alternate viewpoint. Still it's glad to see that shortchanged has a new trick for his pony and a new soapbox to climb onto. Interest Only mortgages are so last year.

grizzly1911

It will cost signifcantly more than they predict. Back when the cost was £30bn they were predicting a £2/£1return, that was questioned and closer to £1/£1reported.

Predicted costs have escalated, yet today £2.30/£1 is being suggested.

Speed was relegated by the minister in the last round of debate. The argument then majored on capacity.

No network improvements at the N ends are budgeted for or cross country.

If we were flush with cash it may be a nice legacy. How much finance will be PPI style and what wil be the ongoing burden? I have little confidence that a government of any colour will deliver effective PPI results.

shortchanged_2

No, it's a waste of money and it could be better spent elsewhere.

MFW_ASAP wrote: »

I think we can safely put Shortchanged in the 'no' camp.

Seems odd to start a discussion thread about a particular topic and then quash any discussion by berating those who have an alternate viewpoint. Still it's glad to see that shortchanged has a new trick for his pony and a new soapbox to climb onto. Interest Only mortgages are so last year.

Anything interesting to add renoman?

What's your opinion on the matter?

Yes my current opinion may be against HS2 but I'm willing to be persuaded if the case is certainly strong enough. Hence starting this poll to gauge the opinions of others. There seems to be quite a large debate about HS2 with many both for and against, so I'm sorry renoman it's not just a one man crusade against HS2.

Mulder00

Yes, the benefits to the UK are far too great to ignore.

shortchanged wrote: »

Is it just a figure plucked out of thin air though?

Probably!!! I don't deny that much of it is just hogwash to try and convince people - it's all guesswork, because how do you predict the future? I very much doubt that companies who built railways 175 years ago would have imagined that they would still be in operation today.