Recent content by GCR

A set of lines from Brent Cross or anywhere else does not make a network. That's the problem with guessing.

The problem is the word 'essentially'. Four cities: London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds are on dead ends. That is not giving them or the rest of the cities a service. Why does it make perfect sense to create radial routes into Birmingham, particularly when they don't join up with New...

There is a huge benefit in going from 100kph, as is common on many parts of our network, to 200-250kph, which was not that difficult in the 1930s. The law of diminishing returns applies. Higher speeds deliver far less, but cost far more. The optimum is unlikely to be above 250kph if the economic...

The 9% figure is often trotted out by HS2. First appearance seems to be in the 2010 Cost & Risk Model which was then put in the 2011 Economic Appraisal. It has not been revisited. 15% figure came much later, possibly first appeared in evidence to House of Lords. The extra width for the tracks...

Like the 'hoards' who choose to railhead from East Midlands Parkway which has trains to many destinations. I can't see many people in Long Eaton and Sandiacre wanting to go to Birmingham, London or Sheffield etc even if HS2 fares are cheap.

There is very little room for significant development around Toton station. Development further away will not attract many inbound trips or commuters. Most people using the station will be leaving the area to go to elsewhere but HS2 stations are so few and far away that it is hard to see that it...

HS2 has signed up to an average delay per train of less than 30 seconds so trains will have to run reliably and turnaround times would not be affected. HS2 Ltd have claimed that it costs 15% more for 360kph compared to 300 and yet only 9% more for 400 compared to 200. The former may have a...

There is nothing normal about HS2 speeds. It seems ridiculous to go so fast when it costs so much more and the actual time saving door-to-door is quite modest. If it is all about capacity then the maximum throughput in terms of trains per hour is achieved at speeds around 200kph. Above 250kph...

I suggest that Toton will be a far better monument to a poor business case, unfortunately a vastly more expensive one. Why would anyone want to go via Toton when it would be cheaper and more convenient to travel from a local station. If you arrive in Toton you will probably need to hire a car to...

Haven't they decided that yet? How do you replace slab track and high speed points in the space of 5 hours? Does anyone know how long slab track lasts with 18 tph at 400kph? Possibly not, as no-one has tried it. The M42 and the M1 are still settling on the bits constucted over old mineworkings...

You "believe" they will be far enough apart but I have yet to see anything that suggests that this is part of the design or that the safety bodies have agreed that people can work on one track while the other is in use. Even if this is possible, the capacity will be very greatly reduced because...

Please explain what you mean by 'comparatively negligible', what speeds you are comparing, and explain why HS2 is so expensive if it is negligible. It will be far more difficult and expensive to maintain HS2 than conventional lines and much more disruptive as there is no alternative route for...

If that is the case then how much will it cost to cater for that growth on the whole network or can you explain why it only happens between stations served by HS2?

The attached Hybrid Bill plan looks like it was drawn by an architect, not a traffic engineer. The large roundabout is a classic of how not to do do it and it should guarantee queues if forecasts are to be believed.

Why are all HS2 journey times start to stop with no allowances whatsoever, not even to get to/from the station entrance. Presumably access roads will be provided so you can alight from your car on the platform next to an open door and hope the train departs immediately once on board. None of...