In the UK, this has been talked about for almost 10 years and now seems to be set to go ahead in its first phase: Birmingham to London.
What is proposed is basically a up to 250 mph New High Speed Rail Link. It would be the biggest infrastructure project the UK has undertaken since WW2. There's still a fair amount of opposition to it due to issues such as enviromental impact, people living on the route losing value on their homes etc. Reception has been somewhat lukewarm (though it has its supporters) as to the benefits of cutting perhaps an hour off of a commute into London, with some commuters saying the longer journey times allows them to do catch up with work on the commute to their workplace.
The initial cost has spiralled several times and potentially it could now come in at £106 Billion - almost twice earlier estimates of £56 Billion. So now they are looking for ways to reduce costs. The Government has decided to pass a lot of the risk involved onto contractors which had raised costs.
The first phase is scheduled to be complete sometime between 2028 and 2031. So a long way off before the public begins to derive any significant benefit from it. By the time the second phase is complete - est. 2035 - 2040 some are saying it will be out of date.
Many of the current trains in the UK are not even running at their max speed. I am not sure why that is, if they need upgrades, but more likely its to do with track geometry. So most of the trains run at about 125 mph, except for the Channel tunnel link (HS1) which is faster (up to 186 mph).
Meanwhile the large parts of UK have suffered two severe storms in as many weeks, which have caused severe flooding in parts of the country - the latest storm this weekend has given rise to a record number of potential flooding alerts.
Storm Dennis: six severe flood warnings in place across England and Wales – as it happened
I wonder if the money due to be spent on HS2 would be better spent in the short term on better flood defenses? A considerable amount is already spent annually on flood defenses it has to be said, and when these are effective they can reduce the financial impact of flooding to about a third. About 12% of land in England is adjacent to a river or stream. About £600 million is currently spent annually on flood defenses in the UK and its estimated that will need to be increased to £1 Billion annually. Given the misery caused by flooding annually surely this is greater priority at the moment than a High Speed Rail Line?
What is proposed is basically a up to 250 mph New High Speed Rail Link. It would be the biggest infrastructure project the UK has undertaken since WW2. There's still a fair amount of opposition to it due to issues such as enviromental impact, people living on the route losing value on their homes etc. Reception has been somewhat lukewarm (though it has its supporters) as to the benefits of cutting perhaps an hour off of a commute into London, with some commuters saying the longer journey times allows them to do catch up with work on the commute to their workplace.
The initial cost has spiralled several times and potentially it could now come in at £106 Billion - almost twice earlier estimates of £56 Billion. So now they are looking for ways to reduce costs. The Government has decided to pass a lot of the risk involved onto contractors which had raised costs.
The first phase is scheduled to be complete sometime between 2028 and 2031. So a long way off before the public begins to derive any significant benefit from it. By the time the second phase is complete - est. 2035 - 2040 some are saying it will be out of date.
Many of the current trains in the UK are not even running at their max speed. I am not sure why that is, if they need upgrades, but more likely its to do with track geometry. So most of the trains run at about 125 mph, except for the Channel tunnel link (HS1) which is faster (up to 186 mph).
Meanwhile the large parts of UK have suffered two severe storms in as many weeks, which have caused severe flooding in parts of the country - the latest storm this weekend has given rise to a record number of potential flooding alerts.
Storm Dennis: six severe flood warnings in place across England and Wales – as it happened
I wonder if the money due to be spent on HS2 would be better spent in the short term on better flood defenses? A considerable amount is already spent annually on flood defenses it has to be said, and when these are effective they can reduce the financial impact of flooding to about a third. About 12% of land in England is adjacent to a river or stream. About £600 million is currently spent annually on flood defenses in the UK and its estimated that will need to be increased to £1 Billion annually. Given the misery caused by flooding annually surely this is greater priority at the moment than a High Speed Rail Line?
Last edited: