High speed rail network

[Archie_tect]

What we need is more competition [ironic cough!]... where are Brunel and Stephenson when you need them?

Just a thought, why not build a network? ...wonder why that hasn't been thought of already.... sorry that would be silly.

 

[Arch]

Christian Wolmer was on Breakfast this morning, and commented that neither the West or East Coast mainlines go anywhere near the coast. oh right, so that big blue watery thing you can see for most of the way between Alnwick and Berwick, what's that?

Of course, the main thing, apart from the route and infrastructure is, which god awful company are they going to choose to run it. And will they take bikes...

 

[Mr Pig]

Nice to see that my home city, Aberdeen, once again is missing out, as well as Dundee.

They are building another rail link behind my house as we speak, when done there will be three lines between Glasgow and Edinburgh and they're still talking about another high-speed one!

Don't you get it? It's about where the people who make the decisions want to go so they want to get to and from Holyrood as quickly as possible. They'll always vote for schemes that make their own lives as comfortable as possible.

 

[HJ]

Humm let see the Canadian Pacific Railway is over 2500 mile long and took 5 years to build, the Trans-Siberian Railway is 5,753 and took 14 years to build, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link is 67 miles long and took 30 years to build. What chance the new High speed rail network will get built before the end of the century, and by the time they finish it London will have flooded and returned to the swamp that it truly is...

 

[Mr Pig]

London will have flooded and returned to the swamp that it truly is...

Don't wish for that, they'll all move up here!

 

[domd1979]

How are they going to manage this? Have we got the space for the new lines? Where are they going to put a high-speed hub in Birmingham? I suppose Birmingham International could work, but it wouldn't be high speed then, as you'd have to get another train into Brum.

What's confusing is that while Network Rail have been looking at high speed rail, the government has set up HS2 - http://www.hs2.org.uk/ - to, er, look at high speed rail.

There is space for new lines, I guess the question is are they desirable in that space!

Birmingham city centre is a good quiz question, HS2 are looking at that. One thing is for certain is that New St cannot take any high speed trains. HS2 are due to publish a report at the end of the year.

 

[Brains]

I've just heard about this on BBC World.

Nice to see that my home city, Aberdeen, once again is missing out, as well as Dundee.

Do these eejits not realise that life does exist north of Edinburgh? Do we not deserve the same kind of transport system that everyone else may be enjoying soon?

If there is any rail line that desperatly needs electrifying and updated it's the line from Glasgow/Edinburgh to Dundee/Aberdeen.

C'mon Network Rail, pull your finger out!!

At present building north of Manchester is optional. it is also very bumpy. (The east cost side is straight and flat, but why let logic interfere with commerce)

The Scots now have their own government, so that is who should be pressured.

The real person with foresight would be looking to build a high speed (200mph+) line from Dublin to Calais. The route would be Dublin, Belfast, Mull of Kintyre, Glasgow, Ebbsfleet, Calais. Europe.

The tolls the Scots could change as long as they owned the 14 mile tunnel would be vast, as no way the ferries could compete on cost/speed currently (Unless the sneeky English built a hight speed line to Holyhead and got in a fleet of Fastcats)

 

[Archie_tect]

The real person with foresight would be looking to build a high speed (200mph+) line from Dublin to Calais. The route would be Dublin, Belfast, Mull of Kintyre, Glasgow, Ebbsfleet, Calais. Europe.

OK but insert Ponteland between Glasgow and Ebbsfleet....

Wouldn't someone from Ireland prefer to fly rather than take such a journey [sorry, 'fly'- naughty word]

 

[cookiemonster]

They are building another rail link behind my house as we speak, when done there will be three lines between Glasgow and Edinburgh and they're still talking about another high-speed one!

Don't you get it? It's about where the people who make the decisions want to go so they want to get to and from Holyrood as quickly as possible. They'll always vote for schemes that make their own lives as comfortable as possible.

Between Glasgow and Edinburgh but what about us in the NE?

 

[jonesy]

Between Glasgow and Edinburgh but what about us in the NE?

Well, we've got to be realistic about this. In know there are wider social objectives to be taken into account, but tail infrastructure is extremely expensive so investment has to be prioritised, and the busiest corridors are going to have first call on electrification and new lines. The demand for travel between Glasgow and Edinburgh, and the many towns in between is vastly greater than that to Aberdeen and beyond, which is why electrification of the Falkirk line and the re-opening of Bathgate to Airdrie will come before your part of the world.

 

[cookiemonster]

Well, we've got to be realistic about this. In know there are wider social objectives to be taken into account, but tail infrastructure is extremely expensive so investment has to be prioritised, and the busiest corridors are going to have first call on electrification and new lines. The demand for travel between Glasgow and Edinburgh, and the many towns in between is vastly greater than that to Aberdeen and beyond, which is why electrification of the Falkirk line and the re-opening of Bathgate to Airdrie will come before your part of the world.

I think I am being realistic. You are talking about around 1million people being denied a proper electric rail line, include the pops of Aberdeen, Dundee and the towns in between, and we are still being served by 30+year old diesel trains, the old 125's, which regularly break down and, if you happen to be in the first carriage of these trains, the diesel fumes can be dragged in by the Air con system making for an unpleasant journey.

Every time I travel in between Aberdeen and Edinburgh, a regular occurance when I'm in Scotland, the trains are packed so the demand is certainly there.

When I have to travel to London from Aberdeen, is there any wonder why I look at Easyjet/FlyBe first before the trains? This does not bode well for the governments idea of getting people off internal flights and on to trains, an idea I fully support incidentally.

 

[jonesy]

I think I am being realistic. You are talking about around 1million people being denied a proper electric rail line, include the pops of Aberdeen, Dundee and the towns in between, and we are still being served by 30+year old diesel trains, the old 125's, which regularly break down and, if you happen to be in the first carriage of these trains, the diesel fumes can be dragged in by the Air con system making for an unpleasant journey.

...

Yes, but that's a lot fewer than in the Edinburgh to Glasgow corridor, so it is bound to come further down the list. I believe that the Scottish government does intend to electrify to Aberdeen eventually, but the busier lines that have a stronger business case have to come first. Similar arguments apply all over the country as to which lines should be prioritised for electrification, so the main London to Bristol and South Wales core of the Great Western route will be electrified before the routes to Devon and Cornwall.

The Aberdeen line will still benefit from more modern stock cascaded from lines that are electrified. I'd add though, at a risk of being a bit of a train spod, that I thought the Aberdeen line was now mostly operated with fairly recent trains, Turbostars and Voyagers? Also, the old 125s are still a pretty good train and much to be preferred to more modern trains like the cramped Voyager.

 

[HJ]

Don't wish for that, they'll all move up here!

Damn hadn't thought of that...

 

[domd1979]

I'd rather have an HST any day - preferably with the original type seats, and not a First Great Western style nasty refurb. Turbostars and Voyagers are both horrible trains to travel on. Turbostars especially.

Turbostars and Voyagers? Also, the old 125s are still a pretty good train and much to be preferred to more modern trains like the cramped Voyager.

 

[jonesy]

I'd rather have an HST any day - preferably with the original type seats, and not a First Great Western style nasty refurb. Turbostars and Voyagers are both horrible trains to travel on. Turbostars especially.

Yes, I use them most days... actually my only real objection to the refurb is to those horrid high backed seats that put everyone into their own little cell and obscure the view. Why did they do them like that? Was it because of excessive health and safety zeal?