HS2 Class 895s (Hitachi Alstom High-Speed)

[Rick1984]

Thanks. I still think the Glasgow portion could have been crowded after Carlisle

 

[The Ham]

Chris Gibb has been sacked for this.

Most is behind a paywall but from comments on LinkedIn, he broke the clause about selflessness and he should always be using his position to act in the public interest.

https://www.thetimes.com/business/c...ho-spoke-out-over-hs2-train-debacle-5fxp3npnr

From a news summary site there's a bit more information (although not much):

Sunday newspaper round-up: Hormuz, Reform vetting, Virgin Atlantic, HS2, Peter Mandelson, Britain First protests | Financial News

Sunday newspaper round-up: Hormuz, Reform vetting, Virgin Atlantic, HS2, Peter Mandelson, Britain First protests | Financial News

www.lse.co.uk

A senior government rail adviser has been dismissed after criticising Whitehall plans to shorten HS2 train lengths. Chris Gibb, a non‑executive director at the state‑owned Department for Transport Operator, was reported by the Times to have had his contract terminated for allegedly breaching media rules.

Gibb, who joined the DFTO board in 2020 after more than four decades in the rail industry, served on the body overseeing operators brought into public ownership. Seven of the UK's 14 train companies - including LNER, Northern, TransPennine Express and Southeastern - have been fully nationalised as the Labour government advances its pledge to reverse rail privatisation.

 

[Krokodil]

Thanks. I still think the Glasgow portion could have been crowded after Carlisle

The current service is an hourly 390 (circa 600 passengers at best). The HS2 service would be a half-hourly 895 (500 passengers). That represents a 67% capacity boost.

 

[supervc-10]

Would the solution for Manchester be to to to every 15 minutes, not every 20? Or would there not be the paths?

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Would the solution for Manchester be to to to every 15 minutes, not every 20? Or would there not be the paths?

Even if there were though, we've seen from CrossCountry the effects of shorter trains more often.

 

[The Ham]

Even if there were though, we've seen from CrossCountry the effects of shorter trains more often.

It depends on how much capacity difference there is.

3 × 607 seats = 1,821
4 × 504 seats = 2,016

That's a minimum uplift of 10.7%, which could be an issue if there's a lot of growth, but then if that's the case we should be building HS2 into Manchester.

I'm also not sure that going from 3tph to 4tph will take in the same sort of uplift that XC saw due to their uplift in frequency.

 

[Rick1984]

The current service is an hourly 390 (circa 600 passengers at best). The HS2 service would be a half-hourly 895 (500 passengers). That represents a 67% capacity boost.

Ah fair enough

 

[Adam Williams]

he should always be using his position to act in the public interest

Difficult to see how highlighting that if "HS2 opened by replacing 11-coach Pendolinos with eight-coach trains, that these would be full and leave people behind on day one" is anything but in the public interest.

 

[Snow1964]

Difficult to see how highlighting that if "HS2 opened by replacing 11-coach Pendolinos with eight-coach trains, that these would be full and leave people behind on day one" is anything but in the public interest.

This smacks of some senior official saying however bonkers our policy is, it is official Government policy, and if you are paid by Government you have to toe the official line. Anyone who doesn't gets fired for causing embarrassment.

The way I see it, is Chris Gibb is so professional he doesn't want to quietly sit there when something is not in public interest, when there is a practical or cheaper alternative.

But I don't want to derail (pun intended) the thread with debate over selflessness clauses vs whistleblowing something wrong

 

[class26]

Difficult to see how highlighting that if "HS2 opened by replacing 11-coach Pendolinos with eight-coach trains, that these would be full and leave people behind on day one" is anything but in the public interest.

no one will be "left behind" as isn`t it reservation only, not walk up ?

 

[Adam Williams]

no one will be "left behind" as isn`t it reservation only, not walk up ?

The point is that there will be demand that cannot be met. The exact details (whether they're physically on the platform unable to board, or try to arrange a reservation on their phone and are unable to do, so decide to drive or use a different mode of transport) are irrelevant; potential passengers are left behind.

 

[Rick1984]

no one will be "left behind" as isn`t it reservation only, not walk up ?

Would this not be for dedicated HS2 services only. Not those going onto classic lines?

 

[Peter Sarf]

Would this not be for dedicated HS2 services only. Not those going onto classic lines?

But the HS2 services to Manchester are going to use the existing paths from Handacre Northwards now that HS2 Phase2 is cancelled.

I have started a new thread for Chris Gibbs proposal for stock suitable for Manchester and Scotland, also covering the fallout.