tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221901955641373488.post2716626287192934596..comments2024-03-20T07:12:19.838+00:00Comments on A VIEW FROM HAM COMMON: HS2. Right Idea. Wrong projectUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221901955641373488.post-57895860184195808462012-01-11T19:45:49.496+00:002012-01-11T19:45:49.496+00:00Mr Sutton, you're wasted in accountancy :-)Mr Sutton, you're wasted in accountancy :-)Richard Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03546947405923306990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221901955641373488.post-40381295251626576132012-01-11T19:29:29.865+00:002012-01-11T19:29:29.865+00:00Apparently the costing is £2bn for the railway and...Apparently the costing is £2bn for the railway and £30bn on the rail replacement bus service.Peter suttonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221901955641373488.post-28786679553440017062012-01-11T16:44:40.693+00:002012-01-11T16:44:40.693+00:00Whether by design or not, HS2 will definitely add ...Whether by design or not, HS2 will definitely add capacity and that's the key reason I support it. Its direct connections from London to Birmingham and later Manchester mean it will primarily relieve the WCML to provide a better service to Milton Keynes, Watford, Northampton, Crewe, Stafford etc.<br /><br />I suspect this is its job by design. It is just being sold differently politically.Duncan Stotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03130729454177705599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221901955641373488.post-72243918848781994642012-01-11T16:18:59.441+00:002012-01-11T16:18:59.441+00:00Of course, I also want to like HS2 becasue of a lo...Of course, I also want to like HS2 becasue of a lot of NIMBY stuff going on. But that's just me being petty.... :-)Richard Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03546947405923306990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221901955641373488.post-82043398067176487462012-01-11T16:15:32.883+00:002012-01-11T16:15:32.883+00:00Hi Duncan - was there every intention to build a n...Hi Duncan - was there every intention to build a new line anyway - I'm not sure that's true. Anyway, the new HS2 wont increase capacity - or at least isn't designed to - according to this piece I've picked up on ( http://www.chrisrichards.org.uk/post/15669528314/unanswered-questions-on-hs2-for-camden ). I agree on your travel time/static time issue - but 33bn for 20 minutes seems bit OTT..<br /><br />Hi Michael - and just to contradict myself - car travel is of course dead time, where you can do nothing else, whereas train travel is not. But I hear you on HS1 and you can only say as you find.<br /><br />Truth is - I really want to like HS2 - I'm all for capital projects, it is greener, and of course we need to modernise communications. But i'm not convinced that, of all the capital projects on offer - this was the best to pick. For example - we're spending 0.5 bn of upgrading broadband (with BT spending another 2.5) - that seems a rather more cost effective way of investing in modern infrastructure?Richard Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03546947405923306990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221901955641373488.post-83769300762589100152012-01-11T15:15:39.023+00:002012-01-11T15:15:39.023+00:00If time is not of the essence why does everyone el...If time is not of the essence why does everyone else whizz past me when I'm doing 50 mph on the A2 or M2 here in East Kent? As for HS1, I thought I'd never use it but the time saving is dramatic - 1 hour from Canterbury to London St Pancras instead of over two hours via Victoria or Charing X and the Tube.<br /><br />Michael BerridgeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221901955641373488.post-20350447390843200242012-01-11T15:03:25.756+00:002012-01-11T15:03:25.756+00:00Julian Huppert's article on LDV a few months b...Julian Huppert's article on LDV a few months back stated that building a similar line at standard rather than high speed specification would save the taxpayer lass than 10% of the £33bn cost. True, a standard line could slalom around beauty spots and villages, but the more you do that the longer the journey time and the more attractive domestic flying becomes to those who value their non-travelling time.<br /><br />I really worry about this idea that travelling time is just as valuable as static time. It feels like classic 'knowing the price without knowing the value' stuff. How do you put a price on a parent getting home in time to tuck their child in at bedtime? You can't do that over wi-fi.Duncan Stotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03130729454177705599noreply@blogger.com