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Concorde isn't a comparable example. There were 14 Concordes in commercial service, each with ~100 seats. That's an extra 1400 seats, so basically 3 extra 747s. It didn't change the basic economics of flying at all. For comparision, when Avanti get their new trains they'll will be running...

Hi Freddy, welcome to the forum! Rail fares, more or less, follow the rules of supply and demand. At the moment, there is not enough space on the trains for everyone who might want to travel. The response is raising prices, otherwise even more people would want to travel on trains that are...

It looks to me like route E uses the existing route all the way into Bedford Midland, with no connection to the MML south of the station. Even if St. John's did close, I'd say it's too far away from Bedford Midland. It would make a really awkward place to put a car park for it.

It looks like any use of Bedford Midland as a non-reversing station for EWR will involve use of the current car park in some form though? Assuming you want complete separation of the EWR tracks as far north as the end of P1, that takes out the station building, bike racks and a lot of the "thin...

Well I don't know the details but it's generally quoted as "funding by government borrowing", which I interpret as a very-low-interest loan.

You could raise that argument about almost any public spending. There are people who have never used the NHS or never driven a car. But we recognise that both the NHS and the road network are nonetheless benefiting them by the fact of their existence. It's a public good. The same goes for the...

See my question above - why does HS2 get the special massive low interest loan? Why can't we do that for other projects? I am pro-HS2, but the answer "the money is only for HS2" doesn't really address the underlying crux of the thing.

I wonder if some of the criticism of HS2 isn't so much about the project itself, but about how easy it is to " magic up" billions of pounds for it. If we can fund HS2 from low interest loans, then why not a mass transit system for Leeds? Why not electrification of the MML? Is HS2 really so...

This analysis ignores the environmental costs of car/battery construction and disposal, not to mention the various negative social effects of car use coming from congestion, land use, accidents etc. Taken as a whole, even when comparing a diesel to the same people carried in individual electric...

@TrafficEng and others have made the point that there don't appear to be developed plans for the classic network to take advantage of the opportunities HS2 creates. I think this a fair point, especially where HS2 might drastically alter service patterns (e.g. the East Mids Hub will need rail...

You can't have a railway with zero above-ground footprint. You'll might reduce the impact on the route itself, but all your new stations have to have an above-ground presence somewhere, with all associated planning and construction that entails.

There's (probably, haven't looked) plenty of capacity on Avanti services from London to Birmingham in the peaks, and on LNWR services from say London to Watford Junction. Is there capacity from somewhere like Tile Hill into Birmingham? As in, are those empty trains leaving Euston full by the...

There can be more than one intention. HS2 will allow businesses to move northwards by increasing access between cities in the North, and also to London. HS2 will allow more people who work in London to commute there by rail on the WCML, by freeing up capacity there. That trains are much less...

Rail might not grow indefinitely, but the current levels of demand are highly indicative that at least the extra capacity provided by HS2 will be filled. TOCs might be struggling financially, but it's not for want of customers.

Better access to clients and services in Birmingham, Nottingham, Derby, Sheffield, Leeds, York, Crewe, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

With two exception, none of these are an example of a classic enhancement that has been de-prioritised (or suggested to be) as a result of HS2. They're all addons/changes to the HS2 scope, which is not the same thing. One exception is about electrification SW of Birmingham, and that's also...

??? Point to an HS2 proponent that doesn't want this?

Yes, it should be! You should definitely lobby for classic transport improvements outside the scope of HS2. HS2 is not the reason that <name local/regional improvement here> isn't happening.