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The construction of HS2, a high speed rail link between London and the north of England, has been approved. The announcement was made by Boris Johnson yesterday. Phase 1, due for completion in 2028 at the earliest, will be between London and Birmingham; Phase 2, due in 2035 at the earliest, will be two separate lines onwards to Manchester and Leeds.
The trains will travel at up to 250 mph. They will otherwise be conventional, and will take electrical power from overhead catenary. The line will have connections with existing ones, enabling some trains to continue at lower speeds to further destinations, such as Liverpool and Scotland.
The routes will be broadly parallel with existing ones, which are generally running at full capacity. Rail passenger travel in the UK has greatly increased in recent years and this, rather than the reduction in journey times, is the main driver for the project.
Note : It is called HS2 because it is the second high speed line in the UK, HS1 being the link from St. Pancras International railway station in central London to the Channel Tunnel.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by isostatic on Thursday February 13 2020, @11:01AM (4 children)
Leeds-London is £58 each way off peak, £135 each way peak.
Manchester-London is £46 each way off peak, £180 each way peak
Birmingham-London is £29 e/w off peak, £92 peak
First class are significantly higher than that.
I don't know about Leeds, but I do know current Manchester and Birmingham trains are about 70% full, with a few standing-only trains (first few trains either side of peak period) and some that are more 30% full (the 9pm train)
10 years ago trains were 40% full - a 70% growth from the West Mids and North West in 10 years, so at that rate trains will be 100% full on almost all routes before phase 1 is even built.
Currently Birmingham has about 3x 500 seat trains an hour, plus another 150 seat local train, and a couple of 200 seat mid-speed trains, so about 2000 seats an hour.
Manchester has 3x500, Liverpool 1x500, so that's 2000
North West into Scotland (Warrington-Carlise-Glasgow) gets another 500, and Chester/North Wales gets about 400.
Total about 4-5k an hour.
HS2 will add 3000 seats an hour to Birmingham, 3000 to Manchester, 1000 to liverpool, 1000 to the north west and glasgow, so that's 8k to the north west, more than doubling capacity. Total number of seats will be between 14k and 18k an hour in each direction.
At £100 each way for the north and £50 for birmingham it may just about break even, if it's well loaded.
But that's not the point, it's essential infrastructure for the country. Without it, people won't be able to get from places like Rugby and Bletchley to Birmingham or London for work.
HS2 current budget is £86b. Anti HS2 people say it will cost £106b. For 340 miles of track.
The UK is currently spending £7b on a new 14 mile motorway east of London to let people drive from Kent to Essex a bit easier. That's £500m/mile and delivers 8,000 people an hour in each direction (average car occupancy being 1.4, and 1800 cars per motorway lane).
At the "stop hs2" figures, HS2 costs £300m/mile (including stations and rolling stock) for at least 14,000 people an hour in each direction. That's 3 times better value for money than the lower thames crossing.
(Score: 2) by Dr Spin on Thursday February 13 2020, @03:03PM (3 children)
I am quite sure you are better informed than me. However, I have had the dubious "pleasure" of standing all the way from Leeds to London and back on more than one occasion.
Fortunately, I was not the one paying.
"Wi' no shoes, in the snow, an' it were up-hill both ways!"
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Thursday February 13 2020, @06:59PM (2 children)
I know very little about rail on the east side of the pennines. I don't think I've ever been on the ECML, and only once on MML. Been on transpennine a couple of times from Manchester to Leeds and York (which is horrendously overcrowded)
HS2 will clearly help Leeds-London traffic by adding thousands of seats an hour. It will also take current Leeds-London passengers off the trains allowing more seats for those traveling to/from Doncaster, Wakefield etc.
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Friday February 14 2020, @06:34AM (1 child)
It will once the second phase is built (assuming it is built as currently planned).
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Friday February 14 2020, @01:52PM
Yes, the strongest argument against HS2 is "they won't build it to the north".
Even then it will at least help Birmingham