HS2 is you in, or is you aint?

[The Black Adder]

HS2 now looks like it's gaining ground to become a reality but what do you think?

Is this a total waste of money or is it going to be helpful for the economy?

The HS2 will be passing our village about 3 miles away but the thing that has really got my back up about all of this is the compensation bill that the government has tried to put through that will compensate all who is directly effected with it's rought.

The fact that this bill has been thrown out surely shows us what kind of government we have here, ruthless? greedy even. But this seems to ring a huge alarm bell with me as it feels like a very Thatcheristic attempt to spend money and rip people off at the same time.

Any views?

[Macca]

The problem with railways is that no-one in the history of the world has ever managed to run one at a profit. Now you can argue that they are worth subsidising as they contribute to the infrastructure required to make other business profitable. Having read through all the pros and cons of HS2 I'm not convinced that it will make an improvement to the infrastructure that will justify its cost. There are better ways to spend money we don't have, if that is what we have to do.

AS regards the proposed compensation - obviously it was an attempt to pay out as little as possible. As a net contributor to the government coffers i am quite happy for them to do this as it is me who will be paying the compo - don't forget government has no money of its own.

I don't really understand the reference to Thatcher.

[synsei]

A pet project which is totally without merit. It is cheaper to fly between the major cities than travel by train these days therefore it will be a huge waste of money on that basis alone. And who is actually going to be able to afford to use HS2 anyway? Nobody is who. Rail users will continue to do what they are doing now, rely upon the existing network because the fares will be cheaper than those on HS2. David Cameron is a bully, pure and simple, as has been demonstrated amply by his failure to back Levenson.

[Macca]

I should point out that as the original HS2 commitee was formed on Jan 2009 under the previous government it would be inaccurate to describe it as anyones 'pet project'. There is a wider pressure from the EU for the UK to extend the high speed rail network. There is also the principle that it is always good for governments to be seen to be 'doing something tangible' hence every government likes to have at least one large infrastructure project on the go.

[Marco]

I presume that this is what you're talking about: http://www.hs2.org.uk/about-hs2

No, I don't keep up to date much with current affairs, and especially as someone who hasn't used any form of public transport in the last 15 years! ;)

Marco.

[Macca]

I presume that this is what you're talking about: http://www.hs2.org.uk/about-hs2

No, I don't keep up to date much with current affairs, and especially as someone who hasn't used any form of public transport in the last 15 years! ;)

Marco.

Yep that's it. It slices through some lovely countryside as well, another reason why we could probably live without it.

Actually these days the trains are pretty danm good if you travel outside the peak times - confortable, quiet, and fast. I can get from my front door to Euston in an hour and twenty-five minutes. Sixty quid return.

[Marco]

Nice one - and sure, I getcha. Thing is, I have no necessity to get to Euston, or indeed these days, anywhere much outside a radius of about 20 miles from where I live :)

So, for me, it's a case of driving or walking to my destinations. I also like to be in control of where and when I go anywhere. I hate being reliant on anyone else - especially public transport.

I realise that this is not the case for others. However, I'm against anything that rips up our countryside!

Marco.

[Audio Al]

Another bottomless money pit for the UK tax payers to fund that will go 3 x over budget :doh:

[Wakefield Turntables]

Another bottomless money pit for the UK tax payers to fund that will go 3 x over budget :doh:

NO! This is the governments attempt to invest in infra structure. It should create new jumps and improve business, but will probably piss everyone off, never get finished and as you say go massively over budget. :doh:

[synsei]

Nah, Al's bang on the money... :)

[Wakefield Turntables]

i was being sarcastic. :ner:

[synsei]

Yeah I know, I was helping you bear the burden... :lol:

[The Black Adder]

lol :)

I'm so glad we all agree so far. To me it's just an amazingly pathetic method of spending money..What is it with governments... with each era they seem to agree on a utterly barking mad idea which costs more money than anything.

It seems they either help destroy an economy to shaft it or help create something to shaft it. The latter of which always turns out more embarrassing to us from a 'the rest of the world' view.

A bloody train line... ffs. Fucking fly instead...!

[The Grand Wazoo]

Someone did point out that if you want to arrive in London from Manchester earlier, then you might like to think about catching an earlier train!
It's certainly cheaper than buying a new railway.

[synsei]

It would be cheaper and more cost effective to upgrade the existing West Coast Mainline. IIRC when HS2 was first proposed, Virgin offered to stump up some of the cash to help pay for the upgrades...

[walpurgis]

My View.

It's certain that oil resources will unavoidably dwindle and within the next ten to twenty years, international, transcontinental and transatlantic transport will start becoming expensive enough to deter much travel, transportation and and the long distance sourcing of all but the most vital minerals, materials and foods.

This means that transportation requirements are certain to contract, all types of transport will be affected, but obviously fuel hungry air travel will suffer first and worst.

The forecast really, is for expansion of transportation infrastructure to be an unnecessary waste of money, since demand will be reduced in the long term as the global market ceases to operate viably.

So, no to HS2!

Realistically, as far as I can see, the only likely reason for this to be pushed ahead is lobbying pressure on the government from the corporations and companies who would make massive money from such a scheme. And I'm sure greasing a few prominent palms and offering lucrative future directorships and the like, will ensure they get their way, unfortunately. They have a habit of always steering things in their direction.

[synsei]

Will soon be time to invest in a horse and cart... :lol:

[walpurgis]

Bicycle! less temperamental, less care and cheaper to run

[archiesdad]

Absolute waste of money, but somebody will get rich from it and foreign workers will be here for a while during it's construction sending money out of the country. Only my 2p mind.