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Bring on HS2?
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
What is your opinion on the developments of HS2?
Do you want 32 billion pounds spent on a fast track train link?
Are any of you concerned about damaging our villages and wildlife in small areas?
Are you for or against?
Do you want 32 billion pounds spent on a fast track train link?
Are any of you concerned about damaging our villages and wildlife in small areas?
Are you for or against?
0
Comments
As for the environment, if we had followed and upheld every concern over the years, I firmly believe that we would still be stuck in the dark ages compared to the rest of the developed world.
I'm not wholesale against this HS2 line, or even for it; though I will have to do further pondering when someone else (with better train knowledge) comes along and explains what £32bn could do in terms upgrading and making the current rail network better.
I can't remember where HS2 is going (and I am too lazy to look), but I've sat on scummy trains between Newcastle and London for hours at a time and so I'm all for a nice, speedy upgrade to services up to the north.
If I could get a direct route from London to Newcastle I would be all for it.
Vague route details here http://www.snag-against-hs2.org/system.asp
I always thought that when people quote the £16k per person, its just to highlight exactly how massive the debt it, not actually how much a family themselves owe?
Just remember that there was just as much uproar and complaints against cars and even steam trains. Way back in the day, it was thought that the argument against stream trains was that seeing one would make a pregnant woman miscarry.
more like
Yeah, whoever the hell we're still borrowing money from doesn't have an IOU with 'G-Raffe = £16k' written on it. It's just a way of trying to comprehend how much £1 trillion is. Did you know that if you paid off the debt at a quid a second, without interest, it'd take you 30,000 years?
I'm not against HS2, per se. I just reckon there's better ways of spunking thirty-two billion quid - 1000 years (no interest) at a quid a second, if you're interested.
I'd be more at ease if rather than a little bit of HS2, they had (not so very)HS2 which was more wide spread. Perhaps might not knock 20% off a journey from one single place to another, but I'm a great believer that people will be more satisfied if we can make a 5% improvement accross the whole country, not necessartily with speed, but punctuality, repairs et al.
.....tell me more.........
Totally agree with this and, having recently read the City Council minutes reviewing the impact, I'm aware that the economic impact has been okay locally. Nothing stunning though. Let's face it though, the only reason HS1 exists is because of the Channel Tunnel link, not because it was built in it's own right.
Personally, if we are going to spend £32bn then I'd rather it was to improve the existing services rather than create a new one. I cannot see that 30 minutes change in time is really worth it. The costs are inflated to avoid political problems for the Tories too.
I can't remember where HS2 is going (and I am too lazy to look), but I've sat on scummy trains between Newcastle and London for hours at a time and so I'm all for a nice, speedy upgrade to services up to the north.[/QUOTE]
and lets face it... it'll actually be over budget... most of the governments ideas are...
I personally think that it's a waste of money, land and time. They should use that money for other things... NHS, education, public sector jobs... I know building the HS2 will create some jobs, but I also don't have confidence that they'll be British jobs.... like the trains contracted to be made in Germany whilst Bombardier struggled.
I'm all for improving the infrastructure, but what about some more tracking at squeeze points? Some more carriages where they're needed?
I honestly don't see the UK as being somewhere that would benefit from such a high-speed line like France and Germany have done.
HS1 was actually not a whole lot more than the regular prices in and out of Canterbury (I think with my railcard it worked out at like £2 more), and reduced the time by at least half an hour, sometimes up to three times that (I love trains that stop at every single station). Normal prices didn't go up, because actually a lot of the people using the trains out of Canterbury weren't necessarily going to London anyway.
which isnt helped if we give contracts to the more expensive options such as
You get my first ever POTW nomination.
However, I am concerned that the trains are going to be built abroad, and yet more British tax money is going to the giant corporations of Japan and Europe.
Just like with the Edinburgh tram project!