HS2 to go ahead
Today will see the government announce plans to build HS2 between London and Birmingham. Whilst details will be trickling out all day, it is expected that the route will include: loads of tunnels to protect areas of the countryside that would otherwise be adversely affected; link to HS1; links to Heathrow; allow train speeds of up to 255 mph/360 kmh; new, extended tunnels, and the odd viaduct; phase 1 to be completed by 2026.
Phase 2, from Birmingham to Manchester, Leeds and the North East, will start consultation in 2014, with a decision to be made on the route made later that year.
Opinion
I am not going to get in to the politics of this; however, the sooner they start building this the better, and phase 2 should also begin work sooner rather than later. I also believe that Glasgow – Edinburgh – Newcastle high speed should be considered since this should also bring immediate construction and infrastructure jobs to the North. Hopefully the new tunnels won’t have the same wobble effect on the trains running through them as HS1 has on the Hitachi trains running along it.
News links
- The Guardian
- The Guardian Interactive map
- The Telegraph (with video)
- BBC (with video)
Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori (NTV)
Soon to be running between Turin and Salerno, the NTV was unveiled (okay, about a month ago) in Italy. The service uses the French AGV and is scheduled to start in Mark 2012. There’s no doubt that the train looks stunning inside and outside, and most importantly is the first use of the AGV on main line operation. According to SMH…
NTV plans to run up to 50 services a day as the first operator to use the AGV high-speed trains built by French transport and power engineering group Alstom.
The madness of HS2
No decision on HS2 until Jan 2012 according to reports today.
Not that this would ever happen, but if they started the line from Leeds going to Edinburgh via Newcastle even trains on the East coast main line would see benefits long before London to Birmingham completes. The mad idea goes as follows, I am using Leeds as a start point because this is where they want HS2 to end up, and Newcastle because this is where the East coast main line would connect:
- Leeds to Newcastle – High speed line approx 157 km. Average speed along this line 200km/h (at least, without setting the bar too high). Journey time, around 55 mins
- Newcastle to Edinburgh – High speed line approx 102 km. Average speed along this line 200km/h. Journey time, approx 40 mins.
From Kings cross to Edinburgh you cut almost an hour off the journey, at least, and benefit from just one short section. Leeds to Newcastle would benefit from at least 30 minutes saving. The upshot to all this is that whilst the South argues, the North benefits, and so would travellers from London; plus if you employ contractors from the North you stimulate the economy in that part of the world.
Mad idea, approx times, approx distances, it will never happen, but you get the point.
KWVR
I’ve been a fan of pennysteam videos for some time, particularly some of the recent of ones – particularly from the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland railways. Really enjoyed this at the weekend and reminded myself that in 2012 I should really make the trip up to the Keighley and Worth Valley railway (which I am almost ashamed to admit I’ve never been to).
Miniatur Wunderland 2012
Still not made it out to Hamburg yet, maybe in 2012 when the world comes to the UK would be a good time to go there.
Kent and East Sussex Railway
You wait forever and two come along at once. I have been trying to find time to do something with video taken at the Kent and East Sussex railway at the start of the year. This is the Southern tank engine No.65 running between Bodiam and Tenterden. This loco is in really good condition and can often be found hauling five, well preserved Southern region carriages.
Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway
Report backs HS2
HS2
An official report published today backed the high speed 2 project that would link London with Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds. The report published by The Transport Select Committee stated that the link would benefit the economy and should go ahead. The next step will be for the government to detail the plan for construction and routing. Additionally, the Scottish government has been urged to start planning for the construction of the line from Glasgow to the borders to link up with the high speed line from the south.
In my opinion, the time line is terrifically pessimistic and will take a painfully long time to have any benefit. Whilst planning for the future can only be a good thing, a time line for completing the project within 20 years is just far too long (okay, I admit I am impatient to try it out). Building the line from Glasgow to Newcastle in an earlier time frame could see more immediate benefits, and I believe if planned and executed correctly could happen a lot sooner than even the London to Birmingham route, which would certainly be a one up for the Scottish government. Now all the UK needs to do is make sure it can employ British contractors to complete the work thus providing good inward investment which is badly needed.
The Guardian | The Telegraph | BBC News
Singapore to KL
The Malaysian government is rethinking the high speed link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. The intention would be to provide a high speed connection between the two capitals cutting the journey time from seven to just two hours. The intent would be to provide a number of key stops along the way, and the government is now awaiting feedback from the Singapore government. It is believed that the project would have a high impact on economic growth for the region, hence the rethink on the prioject, which was originally shelved because of the high costs involved.
HS Freight
Meanwhile, Japan and India are each looking into the possibility of introducing high speed freight lines. The plan in Japan is to use existing high speed lines in the country, whilst the study in India is being performed by a Japanese company. Now details yet on when these services would be introduced, although the freight corridors in India would need to be built first. How cool is that!
