Recent content by K_H

Just as an aside - what sort of lifespan do people think the current refurb of the Southern 456s has? I ask this as they have by some margin the most uncomfortable seating of any British rolling stock in my experience and I would dearly like to see the back of them. The seat cushion is a little...

Unfortunately the route options will be discussed for the next five years or so, then a select committee will be formed before a bill is drafted and drafted again ad nauseam. Who knows what property prices will be like by the time the route is finalised?

I must say that was my first thought too: Network Rail is government-run as is High Speed Two. Why are two government-funded agencies examining these options independently of each other?

Just trying to get my head round where the money goes when new trains are built - any help warmly received! To take an example: the planned HST replacement. Am I right in thinking the government will pay Hitachi a certain amount to build the trains and then sell them to ROSCOs who will then...

Sorry to bring this thread down to my level but is it just me or is the upholstery on the 378s revolting? If you haven't seen it there are photos on London Reconnections - it's one of those migraine-inducing geometric arrangements of orange and brown, like you used to see on the District Line. I...

Aha! That would sort it!

A thought popped into my head the other day about loading gauges that I’d appreciate some help with: HS1 has been built to Continental loading gauge, so in theory we could see ICEs and TGVs on the route. However; Eurostar must have been built to British loading gauge as it operated on the old...

I was thinking of the border controls in place at Gare du Nord and Brussels Zuid. Aren't they stipulated by the British Government? If DB wanted to run an ICE from Cologne to London for example, wouldn't the same stipulations apply?

No-one's mentioned the Schengen issue yet. Won't the border infrastructure required for each continental station present just as big a problem as the configuration of the trains?