Reply With QuoteThe idea has been around since the early 19th centuryOriginally Posted by Elwood Blues
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I honestly don't know
I can see the advantages of providing some of the benefits quicker (albeit on a lesser scale).
I can also understand why there is upset that the full plan will not be implemented although the 2040's
does seem a long way away.
Could new technology such as the Richard Branson Hyper Loop make traditional railway systems (at least, long distance ones) redundant by then.
Far fetched? Maybe, but it not so long that people thought that commercially viable electric cars were way in the future. Who would have forecast 10 years ago that the UK would phase out new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 ( only 9nyeaqrs away now)
The idea has been around since the early 19th century
I can't see this playing out well for the government, they made a big fuss about the "northern powerhouse". This is an open goal for Labour surely?
The headline isn't great, but it'll pass. HS2 has always been both controversial but also a long way in the future. This will bring forward more benefits to more communities and quicker.
I've never supported HS2 personally, so I think it's better to spread the benefits out more and improve more routes etc.
I want to see HS2 to Leeds (and beyond) and the promised new trans-Pennine track - but the breaking of multiple promises by Johnson and the government is no surprise. The reaction from the regional press (especially Manchester, Sheffield and Newcastle) and northern politicians and business reps has been vitriolic. But the loudest noise has come from the big Labour cities.
I'm not sure how the 'betrayal' line is going to play in the new 'Blue Wall' seats where the benefits of HS2 would have been more remote. It doesn't help that Starmer was and HS2 sceptic (north London seat - all pain and no gain) but has now discovered the case for it, a bit too late.
More 'broken promises' and the appearance of Tory disarray may have a longer term effect on Tory support than the specifics of the HS2 cancellation and merits or otherwise of the alternative plans they are cobbling together.
I think the North does need a quick response not a project that finishes in 2040 or probably beyond and double the cost it is projected at now , best to help the areas now, and put the bigger project n the back burner ,or cancel it .
Working local folk don't all need quick mainline routes between big cities, forking out high end ticket prices.
Locals will be looking looking for better shorter transport infrastructures , perhaps this funding may provide it ?? and may keep those communities together , and not see families split up root from their smaller city / towns to go to big cities to work .
All Governments have let the North down over the decades in the rush for big City growth and wealth in particular the South .
You're right about the it'll pass comment - voters have very short memories - they say that only the last 18 months or so before an election really register with the voter, so they probably think they're far enough ahead of where they need to be to get some unpopular things out of the way now.
Rail network is due for an overhaul, but too much into one project for the sake of 20 mins, The blonde one hasn't been too long to start shitting on his northern wall, if it's a major start to his removal a silver cloud n all that.
Good news for the people of Wales, how we are paying for an infrastructure project for another country that actually causes a negative economic effect is simply mindblowing, the only thing even worse is that so many people seem fine about it. Borderline robbery of £5billion which could make a massive positive difference to peoples lives, crooks.
The government was wrong about HS2 full stop. For over a £100 billion spend on HS2 business people would save about 30 minutes travelling time between London and Birmingham - big deal! The project should never have been started and the money spent on improving Intercity connections between cities in the North instead.
Is there any approximate costs of electrifying the majority of the UK network like say Europe has done?
HS2 cancelled from Brum to Manchester..
The business case was more to do with additional capacity on the mainline
this is such a scandal, we should be all up in arms about this. 5bn of infrastructure spending would be very significant for Wales
It is a huge scandal and they’ve used indirectly Covid as an excuse. https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/new...-b2420328.html
The money wasted on the M4 relief road , central government underspend, £33m on the 20mph policy and the Welsh taxpayers contribution to the HS2 programme could have helped towards improvements in infrastructure and rolling stock for TfW, particularly the Milford Haven to Manchester service which is way behind other rail franchises.
😂
You dopey sod
Watch the idiots miss
Completely incompetent opposition
What a surprise
What a bunch of jokers at the conference , clapping like dull seals , hoping the public don't notice
They’re waiting to see what the focus groups say.
The opposition needs a Blair......without his lies ....to sweep in
It's painful to watch
the latest polling are predicting a bloodbath for the Tories in the next election. practically wiped out in Wales. as things should be
They should have started building HS1,2,3 /northern powerhouse thingy in the North as that's where the investment was needed most. Instead the government have looked after themselves and the South, by concentrating on the London to Birmingham line then scrapping the rest.
They wanted to level up,but have just increased the gap instead.
I've never supported HS2. I honestly think it should have been scrapped years ago. London to Birmingham brings some benefits but I think the nature of train travel has changed. The necessity is less than it was and with wifi etc it is not the 'downtime' it was.
I think spending it on a far greater number of more local projects is a much better idea tbh. Cardiff to Manchester is shit. Cardiff to Bristol doesn't run late enough. Liverpool to Manchester is poor, Manchester to Sheffield dreadful, intra-city services in places like Bristol are dreadful.
I think a lot more can be achieved by spending it elsewhere on more projects. At the end of the day, funding is finite, and spending so much on one project of dubious value, starving other schemes of funding as a result was never a good use of resources in my opinion
The challenge now is to bake these projects in, get them funding allocated and start them moving as projects as soon as possible.
Therein lies the problem. The promises of spending on other projects today are the sugar coating of a shit show finally being shelved, which will go the same way as the 40 hospitals, no doubt.
Exactly. People are up in arms to the tune of 500,000 signatures because they have to drive 10mph slower and that it cost 30m to put in place.
England has shafted Wales out of 5 BILLION! That’s an insane amount of money. Linking north Wales and south Wales via Carmarthen and Aberystwyth would cost around 800m leaving 4.2BN left to spend. You could electrify almost the entire Welsh network with that type of money.
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