tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post2400080039046933557..comments2024-03-26T09:38:39.888+00:00Comments on Borthlas: What's the alternative?John Dixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-89427226484639293812020-02-13T13:29:08.816+00:002020-02-13T13:29:08.816+00:00John - to split hairs, there's speed and margi...John - to split hairs, there's speed and marginal speed!!The time savings London to Brum are in the marginal class so project might have been declined. However the case on grounds of capacity may be stronger although silly high prices may dilute that case too.We must wait and see on that. Away from that central spine there is no doubt that gains in speed can be obtained. Boris and Co will probably move forward in the time honoured "radiate from London" style which leaves the people in the regions getting very old before the benefits are accrued.Some things never change. dafishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04216920242825385976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-48032905554536452642020-02-13T07:24:22.594+00:002020-02-13T07:24:22.594+00:00Dafis,
I agree with almost all of that; a new rai...Dafis,<br /><br />I agree with almost all of that; a new rail infrastructure makes most sense if it is envisaged and planned as a comprehensive whole, linking all corners of the particular territory. That is the basis on which most countries (France, Spain, etc.) have gone down the route of high-speed rail. I'm not entirely sure that I agree with your point about speed being less important, however - speed becomes important if we invest in rail as part of a deliberate strategy to reduce short-haul flying, which is a key element, in my view, of improving surface transport networks. John Dixonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-75718678498708572922020-02-12T16:57:52.358+00:002020-02-12T16:57:52.358+00:00Asymmetric, in this case, means cock eyed, boss ey...Asymmetric, in this case, means cock eyed, boss eyed, myopic ? or just made up as they went along ? <br />Anyway on the matter of the rail vanity project that can only be a valid proposition if it extends to all corners of Britain. Right now there are trains running from Penzance to Inverness, so a tidy bit of track running up through or round Bristol, Birmingham and on up via west coast line or east coast line would get you to Glasgow or Edinburgh faster ( if that matters). The only game changer in my book is capacity, it triumphs over speed especially where you only shave minutes off the London-Brum trip. By having a big X shaped modern network for mainland Britain it then becomes entirely rational to have spurs off it to Holyhead, Mid and West Wales as I presume people will still want to visit those parts and even go on to Ireland. High speed trains running from Holyhead to Crewe down the main artery into London, and others running Holyhead to Crewe then on to Manchester,across to Leeds and Hull. Similarly Fishguard > Swansea > Cardiff and on to various regions of England. And the icing on the cake - Carmarthen to Bangor along the old west route for starters and Wrexham to Swansea along a route which will require serious engineering. If they could do it in the Alps then Welsh hills should not be a real problem. <br /><br />Boris will have to make up his mind - go the whole hog or be found out to be the serial bullshitter that most of us see at present. dafishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04216920242825385976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-17937895944266118122020-02-12T14:17:24.400+00:002020-02-12T14:17:24.400+00:00Not quite, I believe. Rail is devolved to Scotlan...Not quite, I believe. Rail is devolved to Scotland and Northern Ireland, but not to Wales. So, both Scotland and Northern Ireland DO receive Barnett consequentials for an 'EnglandandWales' project, but Wales 'benefits' from the project by being part of the administrative area (EnglandandWales) for rail expenditure. It also highlights the sort of problems which can arise from an utterly asymmetric approach to devolution...John Dixonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-66396531713128251812020-02-12T12:49:26.876+00:002020-02-12T12:49:26.876+00:00As I understand it, HS2, will be classed as a nati...As I understand it, HS2, will be classed as a national project, as was Thameslink and many others, so the costs would be met before the Barnet divvy up - like spend on defence, foreign policy etc. - so none of the devoled adminstrations would benefit from consequentials. Quite the oppsite, they'd be paying for it. Alan Morrisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15805204639068367185noreply@blogger.com