HS2 rolling stock features

[WatcherZero]

I believe from what I have read they have factored in slower running in the tunnels, they wont be doing 250mph through them.

 

[IanXC]

Bays of six: I like this idea - it would be a good option for either large families or business groups. Fitting it into the carriage layout would be a challenge, but the kind most engineers would enjoy with a tangible benefit.

Surely it would be very easy to have a section of seating based on bays of 6 on one side, and bays of 2 on the other. The aisle would clearly be offset and you might need a dogleg a la East Coast 225 sets. This would seem to be a very very useful feature to me - many people travelling in 2s, 5s or 6s would like the option of sitting at a table which fits the size of their group.

 

[All Line Rover]

I see no reason why HS2 would not be constructed to the maximum loading gauge possible.

I see no reason either. Apart from one - money! :roll:

 

[talltim]

I would have thought that the cost of building a larger tunnel is pretty small compared to the cost of building a tunnel.
I have no sources, but I can't see them being built to smaller than continental gauge

 

[Nym]

My source is any HS2 spec, "The line will be built to GC Guage"

 

[brianthegiant]

I for one, hope there will be adequate space for cycles.
The arrangement on ICE & most TGV where you have to completely dissassemble your bike into a bag is a barrier to anyone not confident in bike maintenance.

I think the problem is that it's difficult to optimise between the loss of revenue from lost number of chargeable seats and the lost market from people who want to take their bike along (& might otherwise go by car with a bike rack). At the very least some sort of flexible space with fold up seats would be good.

 

[ainsworth74]

My source is any HS2 spec, "The line will be built to GC Guage"

Indeed I'm not sure why anyone would doubt that it's going to be built to GC gauge when every single spec says it's going to be built to that gauge!

 

[RichW1]

I thought double deck trains actually increase dwell times because of people dithering going upstairs and down?

The line will surely be built to GC standards. Just think, when we built a high speed line to London, we did it even better than anyone on the continent and made them go right through the suburbs at high-speeds into the centre to a fantastic station; no other country in Europe has achieved this. When I was in the Stratford box last week it made me laugh because watching those trains fly through at around 140 or so was just so un-expected in London and the UK. It was like watching the future, now...loved it.

I'm sure the new line will be built to the highest possible spec.

 

[button_boxer]

Just think, when we built a high speed line to London, we did it even better than anyone on the continent and made them go right through the suburbs at high-speeds into the centre to a fantastic station; no other country in Europe has achieved this.

On the continent the HS trains can run on the classic lines for the last few km so it's not cost effective to build the HSL all the way into the city centres. If we wanted to have the option of running European HS trains like ICEs through the tunnel then we had no choice but to run HS1 right into a central London terminus, as our classic lines don't have the loading gauge to take them.