HS2

[KeithMacdonald]

1 hour ago, locoholic said:

The BBC is reporting that the Infrastructure and Projects Authority says of HS2, "Successful delivery of the project appears to be unachievable".

What on Earth does this mean? What does an unsuccessful delivery of HS2 look like?! Horse drawn trains from Old Oak Common to Brackley?

 

From the source ref:
 

Quote

 

HS2: Rail link rated 'unachievable' by infrastructure watchdog ~ The HS2 rail line has been given an "unachievable" rating by an official watchdog. It has been given a "red" warning for its first two phases - from London to Birmingham then onto Crewe - by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority. .... The red rating came in the IPA's annual report on major projects, which was published on 20 July and gave a snapshot of progress on 244 projects.

 

 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1171218/IPA-Annual-report-2022-2023.pdf

via the BBC link mentioned by @Richard E

 

[wagonman]

It is hard to escape the thought that the vast sums of money being spent on HS2 could be better employed on much needed major upgrades and electrification of the existing network – especially in the north of the country – rather than whisking people at high speed from a field in west London to a car park in east Birmingham. Meanwhile, government imposed austerity ravages the rest of the public realm.

[jamie92208]

The report, though stuffed with jargon, does make interesting reading.  The main thing that I took from it is that as the years pass many of the projects move from red to amber and green. Crossrail is an example.  I suspect that as HS2 goes along it wil follow a similar path.   Sadly the BBC ha sbeen very anti HS2 for several years. Perhaps it's often London centric view is the reason. 

 

Jamie

[2ManySpams]

3 hours ago, Richard E said:

Link to the BBC news article - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66352286

 

If people read this report, and I had to for work, then they will see that 84% of Gov projects were either red or amber. Only 10% were green.

 

So not just HS2 having issues, more that HS2 is more newsworthy. 

 

Projects will and do move between ratings in their lifespan. The purpose of the rating is to highlight which project need special attention. Some of the things you can get a red for can be quickly addressed, so it's not the end of the world.

 

I suspect part of the red for HS2 is down to recent interference and parts of the project being paused. Tends to screw up delivery ability and confidence...

[lmsforever]

Well the doomsayers have spoken but what will happen is still not laid out for people to  understand   ,by delaying work this project will cost more because of rising prices. If the line is stopped which more and more people seem to want this all of the skilled workers will disappear and the work sites left to crumble.  Governments in the UK have all showed that they are not the people to be managing this and other projects  as to much attention is paid to ,will this keep us in power?  Work around this area has definitely slowed down with acres of countryside left overturned by work not changing for months at a time  .Work around Wendover is moving slowly I shall see what is going on with new roads being built hopefully the road from Butlers Cross to Wendover will be open on on  Thursday  so I can see whats going on. Its a great shame that the UK has lost the will to improve expand travel on land and seems to let the air lines do what they want.The only industry that seems busy is housebuilding and noone seems to want this!

[martin_wynne]

On 26/04/2023 at 17:45, The Stationmaster said:

All you need to do is position the little  yellow man person symbol on the motorway where it is adjacent to the railway to get an excellent comparison of the two different amounts of land take..

 

 

Motorway alongside railway. The vastly different impact on the landscape is striking:

 

 

[Pacific231G]

2 minutes ago, martin_wynne said:

 

Motorway alongside railway. The vastly different impact on the landscape is striking:

 

 

I couldn't agree more Martin. Railway building does leave a scar but it quickly heals and the railway, particularly if it's one or two tracks wide, soon becomes part of the landscape. Major roads leave an ugly scar that never heals.

[APOLLO]

As in the Lune Gorge near Tebay

 

 

Brit15

[Grovenor]

42 minutes ago, 2ManySpams said:

 

If people read this report, and I had to for work, then they will see that 84% of Gov projects were either red or amber. Only 10% were green.

The report is very big on the superb skills and abilities of the IPA staff. But the results of their efforts are dire, Surely deploying those skills should result in most projects showing green, else they are not adding value and might as well be disbanded.

[melmerby]

3 hours ago, wagonman said:

car park in east Birmingham

Sorry, that's wrong.

Moor Street (the location of the HS2 station) is near the centre of Birmingham and runs parallel to High Street & Corporation Street.

The HS2 station will be right next door to Moor Street (ex GWR) station.

[Northmoor]

28 minutes ago, APOLLO said:

As in the Lune Gorge near Tebay

 

 

Brit15

Worth noting that with the right signalling, the two-track railway has more than twice the capacity of the six-lane motorway.

 

It has to be said though that 99% of HS2's critics wouldn't be in favour of a motorway either, because THEY don't need them; motorways and high speed railways are only for over-paid businessmen to rush from one meeting to another, or for big businesses to ship their goods around.

 

Then those that think railways are only for commuters, try to travel to a festival one weekend....

Edited July 30, 2023 by Northmoor

[corneliuslundie]

Remember that there is a general election in the not too distant future.

See also our PM's recent statements on ULEZ if you want confirmation as to what sets government policy.

So at the moment anything to curry favour with the voters.

And I am afraid that all the parties seem to be the same.

Jonathan

[Ron Ron Ron]

Regardless, work continues to deliver.....

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-66324019.amp

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[jamie92208]

That looks as if it's being built for si gle track but with provision for relatively easy installation of double track. 

 

Jamie

[Ron Ron Ron]

1 hour ago, jamie92208 said:

That looks as if it's being built for si gle track but with provision for relatively easy installation of double track. 

 

Jamie

Apparently so.

Future proofed for minimal extra cost.

 

 

.

[billbedford]

9 hours ago, wagonman said:

It is hard to escape the thought that the vast sums of money being spent on HS2 could be better employed on much needed major upgrades and electrification of the existing network

 

Would that include something to deal with the lack of capacity on the southern end of the WCML?

[TheSignalEngineer]

5 minutes ago, billbedford said:

 

Would that include something to deal with the lack of capacity on the southern end of the WCML?

Back around 1990 I had a 'Top Secret' file cross my desk. It was regarding two proposals, one (from Inter City I think) for a high speed line from Rugby to the old GC line towards Ashenden Junction and on to Acton with connections from there to Euston and the West London for Boat Train 1 to the Channel Tunnel. The other was probably from the embryonic days of NSE to connect the WCML at Denbigh Hall to the GC near Calvert then using the high speed route towards London to connect with what ended up as Heathrow Express to enable fast direct services from Milton Keynes to Heathrow and West London. Needless to say the actions of the Government killed it stone dead.

[jjb1970]

8 hours ago, Grovenor said:

The report is very big on the superb skills and abilities of the IPA staff. But the results of their efforts are dire, Surely deploying those skills should result in most projects showing green, else they are not adding value and might as well be disbanded.

 

A few years ago I got a slap on the wrist and told not to do it again for questioning the excellentness of public sector project management. I was doing a lot of naval work for the MoD at the time and the MoD wanted me to go on a PRINCE2 course, at the time HMG saw PRINCE2 as the 'gold standard' of project management, showing the riff raff outside of government how things should be done. I pointed out to my employer (not the MoD) I wasn't a project manager, and that if I was it would surely be better to learn a technique that worked as the last organisation in the world I would look to as an example of how to manage projects effectively would be the UK government. The funny thing is that after b*llocking me my boss agreed with me and derided it but told me to just go along with it for a quiet life to keep those higher up happy.

[rockershovel]

On 25/07/2023 at 17:44, KeithMacdonald said:

 

No, the UK government is not "spending" £680m. It's providing a loan guarantee, with strings attached.

 

 

As usual, the money for the loan does not exist until the loan is made, then the money is created. It's also insured against risk of default.

 

 

This is business-as-usual, to get business for British firms around the world.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-export-finance

Supply what, exactly? What do we still manufacture? 

[Compound2632]

6 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

Supply what, exactly? What do we still manufacture? 

 

The brains: i.e. the engineering expertise.

[Joseph_Pestell]

50 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

Supply what, exactly? What do we still manufacture? 

 

Diggers and loaders (JCB).

 

Interesting article about the firm in yesterday's Sunday Times and particularly their new hydrogen engines.

[david.hill64]

1 hour ago, rockershovel said:

Supply what, exactly? What do we still manufacture? 

Ninth largest manufacturing economy in the world with an output value of £182bn. Largest segment is transport (cars, engines, jet engines) followed by chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Machinery (JCBs etc) also important.

[wagonman]

22 hours ago, melmerby said:

Sorry, that's wrong.

Moor Street (the location of the HS2 station) is near the centre of Birmingham and runs parallel to High Street & Corporation Street.

The HS2 station will be right next door to Moor Street (ex GWR) station.

 

The HS2 station will be at Curzon Street which is nowhere near Moor Street and even further from New Street. My source for this assertion? HS2's own website.

 

 

[wagonman]

15 hours ago, billbedford said:

 

Would that include something to deal with the lack of capacity on the southern end of the WCML?

 

I would hope so, if it's needed. There are major bottlenecks in central Manchester too, not to mention the reinstatement of much that was prematurely 'rationalised' in the '70s and '80s. But a rolling programme of electrification is probably the most urgent priority if they're serious about being net zero in 2050, or whenever. Big 'if'?

[Ron Ron Ron]

30 minutes ago, wagonman said:

 

The HS2 station will be at Curzon Street which is nowhere near Moor Street and even further from New Street. My source for this assertion? HS2's own website.

 

 

 

The station may be named Curzon St.,but the front entrance will lie adjacent to Moor Street Station, on Moor Street Queensway.

The old Curzon St. Station building, is located at the far end, about three quarters of the length of the new station away from the front entrance.

 

This image shows the front entrance on Moor Street Queensway.

You can see the old historic Curzon Street Station building, in the distance, at the far end of the station.

 

 

 

 

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