Maglevs in Britain?

[joshd]

OK. BP's profits in the first quarter of 2010 was $6.79,000,000,000 so I do not think a 200 quid fine will matter that much anyway, lol.

[Badger]

You have to activate the pump from within the petrol station, so the operator should be checking that anyone using a pump is old enough. If they suspect someone, don't activate the pump and call them in for ID. No ID, no fuel.

[joshd]

I suppose though with the amount of "mini-motos" and dirt bikes darting about with youth's on them it does make sense.

@Badger. Isn't that a lot of work for a person behind the counter. Selling fuel, sweets etc operating the checkout and register, and watching for ages on the forecourt?

[John]

OK. BP's profits in the first quarter of 2010 was $6.79,000,000,000 so I do not think a 200 quid fine will matter that much anyway, lol.

$6 and 79cents? Wow, they really are struggling.

And the company that was fined was BP Oil UK Ltd, the one that earns s*** loads is BP plc

Finally, don't assume the big sign next to the petrol station is an indication of who owns it - it only tells you who made the petrol.

A Few/Some/Lots/Most (someone in the know can delete as appropriate - Badger?) are franchises - they are owned by someone else, but get to use the big companies brand.

[JamieLei]

There are some countries in the world with no income tax, such as Monaco. Some Arab countries too - Saudi Arabia IIRC? Perhaps Dubai too? I forgot.

Thenagain the regions with the lowest taxes, such as Texas tend to have crappy public services. It works both ways. After living in a country where you actually have to pay for health insurance, the NHS truly is a lovely lovely service. If we weren't paying it through NI, we'd just be paying health insurance and the associated excesses every time you needed the hospital anyway.

[Badger]

@Badger. Isn't that a lot of work for a person behind the counter. Selling fuel, sweets etc operating the checkout and register, and watching for ages on the forecourt?

Not really, it takes mere seconds to look at a pump and authorise the fuel. Operating a checkout isn't exactly brain surgery either, and if there's more than 8 pumps there has to be 2 staff on anyway.

[John]

If we weren't paying it through NI, we'd just be paying health insurance and the associated excesses every time you needed the hospital anyway.

There is something quite nice about being picked up in an ambulance and taken to A and E and not being asked for a credit card.

Or trying to work out whether to spend the little money you have on a house, education, medical insurance or food....

[ostlandr]

Until you folks rally around MEP Daniel Hannan and start your own version of the Tea Party. For the record, TEA stands for "Taxed Enough Already."

It's just something you'll have to accept.

[ostlandr]

Back on topic, I'm not sure MAGLEV technology is worth the cost. A conventional train with powered trucks (bogies) under every car should be able to accelerate fast enough to make the passengers uncomfortable; that's your acceleration limit. With active tilt also, speed is limited by the track geometry and distance between station stops more than by the technology. 200 kmh or even 300 kmh DMUs/EMUs are perfectly feasible.

[Ameecher]

200 kmh or even 300 kmh DMUs/EMUs are perfectly feasible.

And already exist, the former in the UK, the latter on the continent. The trouble with going beyond 400km/h (the speed most HS lines in Europe are designed to be able to cope with) is the vast amount of wear on the components in the train but also on the track. Take away the interface of steel on steel and you avoid much of that. However, the requirement for a train to travel at 300km/h + is fairly invalid for the UK I feel, it'd spend it's whole time accelerating/decelerating rather than travelling at that speed because of the locations of our major conurbations not being that far apart.

[PikkaBird]

Finally, don't assume the big sign next to the petrol station is an indication of who owns it - it only tells you who made the petrol.

No it doesn't, it only tells you who sold the franchise. Petrol stations are generally supplied from the closest refinery, regardless of ownership.

As for Maglevs and other high-speed rail, obviously there's a point where efficiency and speed balance out, and for the UK that seems to be around 125mph. Faster trains are just going to produce higher costs, for no real benefit to the travelling public.

As for taxes, money is just bits of paper/plastic/metal with numbers on, and its value (purchasing power) is determined by the society we live in. By all means take an interest in how and on what government money is spent, but anyone who gripes about "their" money (and personally, I don't think of my income tax as "my" money; I never see it, after all) is not only greedy, but has no idea how the world around them actually works.

That is to say, I'd much rather earn $40,000-in-hand a year, and live somewhere with low crime, clean streets, affordable public transport, housing and food, and "free" medical care, than earn $50,000 a year which can buy me none of those things.

But I suppose you can't really expect a 15-year-old who lives under his parents' roof and whose only economic experience is saving "for many years" to buy a computer to understand that.

[JamieLei]

Of course in the US, there's the additional fact of "is it right to force somebody to buy something in a free country". Hence although we know about many rallying against compulsory health insurance, there's also the case of quite a large group, particularly in the southern states that refuse to buy car insurance and the like.

As for the Maglevs in Japan, I personally think it's a bit of a white elephant. Seriously - who will use it when the conventional Shinkansen is already 14,000 each way from Osaka to Tokyo (that's well over £100, about €114)

[audigex]

OK. BP's profits in the first quarter of 2010 was $6.79,000,000,000 so I do not think a 200 quid fine will matter that much anyway, lol.

Except that the fine doesn't go to BP, it goes to the person selling the fuel.

You've just received an education (although by the looks of things, you weren't paying attention), you will receive healthcare, you will drive that car you intend to buy on roads, you've used roads to get places, your rubbish is collected. You haven't been murdered so that someone could take your stuff, which is nice, and if (god forbid) your house caught fire, there would be some men who came round with a big red car (using those roads the taxes pay for) to come around and put water on it. Christ, the internet and computer you're using to spout your inane crap had their early development paid for by taxes.

Simmer down, you daft clown.

[joshd]

You've just received an education (although by the looks of things, you weren't paying attention)

This actually offends me. I am staying on at school and taking 5 Highers (just a little bit below A-Level standards). I am not thick.

[Dave]

You've just received an education (although by the looks of things, you weren't paying attention)

This actually offends me. I am staying on at school and taking 5 Highers (just a little bit below A-Level standards). I am not thick.

I have deduced, that.. Unfortunately, yes you are.

[JamieLei]

Lol - it was only about a month ago that a 16 year old was regurgitating some crap about "big society" and us "all having to pay our part". I probably would have respected it if it was his own views but it wasn't. So if this joshd fellow stopped regurgitating Daily Mail-esque popularist crap from both sides of the political spectrum "Boo to businesses making profit" whilst simultaneously shouting "Boo to Taxes", then people might actually take him a bit more seriously.

You've just received an education (although by the looks of things, you weren't paying attention)

This actually offends me. I am staying on at school and taking 5 Highers (just a little bit below A-Level standards). I am not thick.

Bear in mind that the average age in this section of the forum is pretty much university age upwards. You'd get more respect if you didn't try to give off the impression that you were more experienced than everyone else. If you're interested in this stuff, a great place to begin learning about current affairs is The Economist weekly "newspaper" (as it calls itself): http://www.economist.com. If you get it delivered to your home with a student discount, it's only about £2 a week or so.

[andel]

I think its time for everyone to return to topic or head to the naughty corners - I hope thats clear.

[John]

I think its time for everyone to return to topic or head to the naughty corners - I hope thats clear.

OOOooo - does the naughty corner come with a nice hat?

As for the Maglevs in Japan, I personally think it's a bit of a white elephant. Seriously - who will use it when the conventional Shinkansen is already 14,000 each way from Osaka to Tokyo (that's well over £100, about €114)

Not really - there is still a long way to go in development.

Currently its advantages are only really apparent on intercity routes where stations are a few hundred miles apart.

With the ever increasing performance of super conducting magnets the costs associated with Maglev systems are decreasing rapidly, and it won't be long before the are comparable with standard steel track systems, and maglev has some key advantages when that happens.

If they also go for the reduced pressure tube system, then you suddenly end up with a very competitive product for some intercontinental routes that have thousands of miles between stations.
I can see it be very competitive as part of a large inter-european high speed system. Especially given how quickly we seem to be running out of space for aircraft up there.

You might also get it on subway systems in the future (it seemed to work well on the very short Birmingham route) but I don't see it working on suburban systems - maglev points aren't the quickest to change.