Stupid thinks about the UK

[Mike]

High speed trains are a good idea but work won't start until 2017. 7 years?! What the heck do they need to do?!

[stimpsonslostson]

"Stupid THINKS about the UK"

How ironical.

[Mike]

Not at all deliberate I assure you. . . . .

[mr_e]

2017 = almost enough time to deal with NIMBYs and compulsory purchase orders. You can almost guarantee that's why it'll be taking so long.

Wow, has been ages since I posted on these forums.

[stimpsonslostson]

At the risk of sounding out of touch.
Does the UK really NEED a high speed rail link? I genuinely don't think that the UK is big enough to need something like that. Inverness to Exeter takes 12hrs by train (thats the longest trip I can think of on major lines- I don't think this would improve the time on that trip much).
Perhaps spending the 30BILLION on improving the existing infrastructure would be a better idea. As anyone who spends much time on the rails will say, timetabling should be considered a rough guide rather than a binding document.
45mins from London to Birmingham is admirable, but is it REALLY necessary?- Who is it going to help?

The track may NEVER make it past Manchester- and won't get that far for a while, so its hardly a national project is it? (And yet I bet everyones taxes will pay for it).

[Mike]

It is going to take China 10 years to complete a rail linking China to main land Europe. Nuff said.

I think that a high speed link is essential to ensure that as many businesses can access the capital as possible. It spreads the wealth and the markets (potentially). Not only that but British construction industry needs a boost!

[mr_e]

This new line, with fast frequent services could, with attractive fares, start to revolutionise intercity rail travel."

Attractive fares? Like the ones we have now that render car travel with even one passenger cheaper? Pfft.

I can only see a couple of reasons for doing it: huge boost to the economy, albeit it's government money initially, and it may compete with short-haul air travel. The second issue really requires a dedicated high-speed link to Scotland though that doesn't bottleneck around Manchester and the mini two-track west & east coast lines.