Opinion

Readers’ comments: Persimmon quality checks, HS2, Laing’s historic photos

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  1. It is difficult to see that HS2 in fact will do anything beyond its utility as a construction project. What the current railway has is semi-fast trains at best; it has ceased to try and run at the theoretical limit of a 125mph railway, which is about 110mph average speed between cities. It once did try, but it no longer does.

    The red herring of capacity release is just that. The ability to mix train speeds on the conventional railway was one of the capacity features – relief lines, loops and alternative routes – ruthlessly eliminated 1960-90 on grounds of cost. LGV- type lines don’t attempt it because of the effect upon capacity, which is dramatic. Many lines with more than two tracks – the GW out of Paddington for example – don’t have platforms on the up and down main, and crossovers to and from the relief lines are mostly absent, for exactly that capacity collapse reason.

    On busy double track lines you can either have, as in Leeds to Machester via Huddersfield, a semi-fast service of trains at 65mph, or on the same route via Halifax and Rochdale, an all stations parliamentary service at 40. On the latter you can mix in some freight.

    How any of that is going to attract one person out of their car, or a freight forwarder to consider, much less use, rail, is a mystery to me. Journey times outside the rush hour will not be competitive unless HS2’s first station is 200 miles out of Euston. And how are you going to get there…? Crossrail 2 at another £100bn+?, Midland Metro extensions, new metro for Leeds… None will come for free, and all will be out of the taxpayer’s pocket with no possibility of – for most of us – even a useful ride.

    HS2. How to lift your transport carbon emissions to new heights, without even running a single train. A bad start for King Boris if he bottles this decision.

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