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I absolutely agree, I remember the hysteria with HS1, yet those who had the hysterics were, a couple of years later, highly surprised to be told that it was up and running. It's just such a shame that the UK has gone from being the world's leader in rail development, to being about the world's...

Forgive my scepticism but the terms "HS2" and "future-proofed" in the same sentence seems a bit strange. HS2 (in some form) was needed many years ago, but instead of progressing it quickly, it's been decimated. There's nothing looking hopeful to extend it, or to advance any other new long...

The point was that the car didn't have a fault at all, it was the diagnostics system that caused it to fail unnecessarily. Yes, no disagreement there at all. My point was that these systems are an aid, they're not there to completely take over. No argument there either, my concern was only...

Automated systems in cars have a lot to answer for. As retirees, my wife and I have managed very well with one car for some years, supplementing our car use with our free bus passes. Also, with my love for walking, I’ve been happy to walk two miles (each way, along very quiet country lanes) to...

I'd be interested to know what you think of my subsequent comment from the post that you quoted, ie. that a new route after HS2 could provide "high quality end to end services, but also between intermediate places too". As you may recall, I said this in the context that this new route should be...

I agree. I was just challenging my learned colleague who has previously expressed doubt that passenger loadings on long distances without stops would be all that high.

No stops between Newton le Willows (ie Manchester area) and Glasgow? Are you sure there would be much demand for that distance non stop?

This is a very skewed presentation of population density. You've named England rather than the UK, so why not name Honshu (the main island of Japan) rather than the whole of Japan? It would be a much fairer comparison, and then you'd have a slightly higher figure for Honshu than England. But to...

Interesting that you propose faster services to Bristol and South Wales. I've lamented for years on this forum, that even after electrification, London-Cardiff is slower than it was almost 50 (yes FIFTY) years ago! I've always been shouted down by those who say that stopping all trains more...

A very quick search shows Lyon to Valence takes 35mins, which is about the same distance. But Valence is a lot smaller than either, which suggests that there should be a greater case for such a service in the UK. Oh, Marseille to Avignon is a similar distance too, taking 27mins.

But what part of "generating new traffic" do you (and others) not understand? For many decades, traffic and transport modellers in the UK have had a blind spot when it comes to traffic growth. I've commented on earlier threads that the Highways Dept of Worcestershire County Council pleaded with...

I confess to an apparent lack of eloquence - I can't seem to find the right words to convey the fact that my proposal for a HSR to Scotland makes the (apparently wildly optimistic) assumption that a lot of people would transfer from roads to railways. As well as generating new traffic, just...

Perhaps I should say it again ... "Note - I'm assuming an improved national enthusiasm for rail travel, with both politicians and the public recognising its benefits over car travel." Also as I've said previously, far, far more people use cars than trains. If there was a significant transfer...

Well that would be a great start, but it's not all that much help for Scotland. I think there's much to be said for a HSR from London to Edinburgh and Glasgow via East Midlands, Sheffield, Leeds, Teesside and Tyneside. Route details to be developed, along with how to dovetail links from...

It's pretty safe to assume that HS2 will be completed to Birmingham and provide some benefits for Manchester. But if (okay a BIG if) there was both public and political support for significant further rail investment, what might be a reasonable next project?

You found one of the many detractors! :D As the OP for this thread I have some mixed feelings about HS2, but since it has failed so dismally to serve Leeds and Manchester, I see nothing wrong with reconsidering what might have been if we could turn the clock back 20 years. Sadly though, some...

Be careful, your suggestions sound pretty sensible! My boss at a consultancy often used to say to me "Don't bring logic and common sense into this" - words which have never left me and which often seem to apply to rail development. I've often suggested the merits of using the M1 corridor...

Many rail advances were promised with the money saved from binning HS2 to Leeds, but what did we get? Then many more advances were promised when HS2 to Manchester was binned. Heaven forbid that I should think these were utterly hollow promises, but what have we actually got with the two lots of...

All of the released capacity is accounted for from Day 1? If that's the case isn't a pretty sorry indictment of the fact that HS2 has taken so incredibly long to build! Quite apart from the horrendous Sunak savaging of it. The UK really needs to get its house into much better order when it...