HS2: High-speed rail link 'being seriously considered'

[Leanden]

Ministers are "considering very seriously" building a controversial new high-speed rail line between London and Birmingham, the BBC understands.

A source said a Network Rail review of the two main alternatives favoured by opponents concluded they could not "generate the capacity" needed.

The government is due to make its final decision on the £17bn HS2 scheme next week.

The 100-mile connection would be built between 2016 and 2026.

It aims to cut the journey time between London and Birmingham to 49 minutes. It would mark the first phase of HS2, with extensions further north later.

A Y-shaped section taking branches to Manchester, Leeds and possibly further north could be finished by 2033.

The entire cost of the project is expected to be £32bn.

Original Article can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16453869

[GurraJG]

The entire cost of the project is expected to be £32bn.

I bet you ANYTHING that'll it end up costing much, much, much more than that.

[Kogut]

The 100-mile connection would be built between 2016 and 2026.

It sound like never.

[JamieLei]

I don't know. Lots of schemes are being kept within budget. With such a high budget I doubt it'll be exceeded.

[Kevo00]

If was a road scheme it would come in below budget. But for some reason rail schemes always seem to bust their budget...

[Chris]

HS1 was finished on time and under budget, and when planning it the date of 2007 for completion would seem like a long way in the future, as it does with HS2.

[RFT]

So, It's on then, and the "final" alignment is on the DFT site.

they weren't kidding when they mentioned a lot of tunnel. It seems like once you're out of euston you're barely going to see daylight until aylesbury (slight exaggeration, I know).

My workplace, having been uinder threat of demoltion since the first alignments came out, is now safe, in fact they'd done a good job of managing to mimimise the need for house demolitions along the route.

[JamieLei]

Interchange at Old Oak Common - possibly one of the greatest insights to come out of the plan. Lovely and easy to jump on a train to the City or Canary Wharf, and make Heathrow much more accessible since the HeX would also be stopping there. The spur to the North from Heathrow also looks good with direct drains from Manchester, Leeds etc without slowing down the Euston Services as Labour's plan would have done. I do wonder if there'll be enough demand though for Heathrow trains each hour from Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds though.

[Dave]

Interchange at Old Oak Common - possibly one of the greatest insights to come out of the plan. Lovely and easy to jump on a train to the City or Canary Wharf, and make Heathrow much more accessible since the HeX would also be stopping there. The spur to the North from Heathrow also looks good with direct drains from Manchester, Leeds etc without slowing down the Euston Services as Labour's plan would have done. I do wonder if there'll be enough demand though for Heathrow trains each hour from Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds though.

I think 1tph trains would be rammed to Heathrow.

[Chris]

I hope that the Rothschild moron will like his new view from Waddesdon

[Kevo00]

I hope that the Rothschild moron will like his new view from Waddesdon

Seriously though, I do wonder if the political will is really there to complete this, or rather to start it. 2016 is after the next general election, and (at least) four budgets away. I don't really see what the point of making a hoo ha is now if nothing will happen for four years, except to create the impression that the government is doing something. I hope it won't be like that, but I'm not hugely optimistic after the way the WCML upgrade, Crossrail and HS1 were repeatedly cancelled and reinstated through the 1990s and early 2000s.

[61653]

Well, on the face of it the announcement is good news- though I won't be holding my breath...

At risk of sounding like a grumpy Northerner, I'll be intrigued as to whether as many concessions are made to objectors in the suburbs of Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester when it comes to building those sections...

[Pilot]

Why don't these Politicians think more about other Cities except from London for once. There are many projects they want there (HS2, Crossrail, Thameslink, GWML Electrification, Chelsea-Hackney Line).
Everywhere else, what is there?
Manchester/Liverpool/Leeds:
Electrification of Chat Moss / Trans-Pennine Route, Expansion of Metrolink
Birmingham:
Re-gen of New Street, New Stock.
Scotland:
Waverley Route

HS2 is supposed to cost 32bn Pounds.
Cities like Leeds and Birmingham need more commuter lines. This would cost much, much less and take less time to build.

This is Country is supposed to be in a Money Crisis, why spend 32bn on HS2, when it can be used elsewhere on new commuter lines and such.

Basically, what I'm saying
The South East and London's Rail Network get too much, where as up in other parts of the UK, we end up with all the Rubbish London doesn't want.

[Leanden]

This is Country is supposed to be in a Money Crisis, why spend 32bn on HS2, when it can be used elsewhere on new commuter lines and such.

It will create a lot more jobs at least ^^

[Pilot]

This is Country is supposed to be in a Money Crisis, why spend 32bn on HS2, when it can be used elsewhere on new commuter lines and such.

It will create a lot more jobs at least ^^

But so will smaller commuter lines, in fact they will probably create more if they spent the same amount on them as their willing to spend on HS2.

[61653]

It would be nice if we were to have some sort of guarantee that once HS2 is completed, fares on the 'classic' mainlines would be capped...

[Chris]

1)

Why don't these Politicians think more about other Cities except from London for once. There are many projects they want there (HS2, Crossrail, Thameslink, GWML Electrification, Chelsea-Hackney Line).

HS2 is planned to go from London>Birmingham>Manchester/Leeds. How is that 'just' London? Similarily, I hadn't realized that Bristol and Cardiff were within London . Both Crossrail and Thameslink are desperately needed capacity wise - I honestly don't think people realize how busy the Tube and suburban lines in London are, its ridiculous.

2)

HS2 is supposed to cost 32bn Pounds. This is Country is supposed to be in a Money Crisis, why spend 32bn on HS2, when it can be used elsewhere on new commuter lines and such.

Honestly, £32 billion isn't that much for the whole network to Leeds and Manchester. Just compare it to the military budget, or Trident replacements coming in at around £80-90 billion. Yes at the moment the country has a few economical issues (massive understatement), but this is being talked about as starting in 2016, by then hopefully the economy will have recovered. Further to this, the best way to get out of a recession is to spend loads of money on big capital projects .

3)

Cities like Leeds and Birmingham need more commuter lines. This would cost much, much less and take less time to build.

Yes, commuter systems around many UK cities are also overcrowded, but none more so than London.

4)

Basically, what I'm saying
The South East and London's Rail Network get too much, where as up in other parts of the UK, we end up with all the Rubbish London doesn't want.

There may be more total spending in London and the south-east on rail infrastructure, but you also have to recognise that this is split between many, many more people. I would think that most other countries spend quite a bit on their capital, especially if it is 4x as large as the next largest city.

[JamieLei]

I hope that the Rothschild moron will like his new view from Waddesdon

Seriously though, I do wonder if the political will is really there to complete this, or rather to start it. 2016 is after the next general election, and (at least) four budgets away. I don't really see what the point of making a hoo ha is now if nothing will happen for four years, except to create the impression that the government is doing something. I hope it won't be like that, but I'm not hugely optimistic after the way the WCML upgrade, Crossrail and HS1 were repeatedly cancelled and reinstated through the 1990s and early 2000s.

It does have full-party support though. Both Labour and Conservatives were pledged to build the line (before the election, the Conservatives were moaning "Oh it doesn't go to Leeds...!" - then they changed their mind once they realised they could fork it north of Birmingham rather than first going through Manchester as the original proposal was.

[oleinves]

a once technologically advanced country in railways became 'behind' after the steam and hst era
finally a high speed

indeed millitary spendings are much higher
look at the cost of the libya battle, according to wikipedia we've spent about USD1500million just during that period only
enough already to fund part of the high speed


i'm also quite concerned with euston
wouldn't the station be packed even fuller with hs2 even with its expansion
i prefer the hs2 to connect with also st pancras for hs1 services and so as to lessen crowding in euston due peak times

[Leanden]

I expect part of the project will involving the construction of at least 2 if not more platforms at Euston to support the High Speed Traffic.

Extract from BBC News:

Creating the London to Birmingham HS2 would mean Euston station in London "becoming a building site for seven years", it said.