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HSR was never about commuting, capacity is too low, the journey time improvements are modest and tickets will always be priced to discourage commuting. It's a

HSR was never about commuting, capacity is too low, the journey time improvements are modest and tickets will always be priced to discourage commuting. It's a bone to throw to those people who currently travel longer distances to London, who are currently using slower rail, driving or flying. This group includes all the MPs from north of Birmingham, as well lots of rich Tory voters, and it was thought that it would carry the same appeal as the channel tunnel does for Londoners - reduced journey time and hassle for very occasional trips. They missed several real opportunities with it though - proper connection with the existing HSR to Europe would have played into the eco / flight shaming crowd, but it didn't fit the Brexit message. Linking it to a program of speed improvements on connecting commuter rail would have been a cheaper vote winner that would have boosted the value of HSR2 too. The whole project was a giant misguided waste of our money even before covid19 made public transit irrelevant, and with the rise of self-driving and environmentally friendlier cars only a crazy stubborn government would place a multi-billion pound on continuing HSR2.

ENIanDEM 6y ago
> HSR was never about commuting, capacity is too low It initially doubles capacity and ultimately triples it https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/260525/strategic-case.pdf https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/... (figure 4.2, p76) What would "proper connection to Europe" have looked like to you? HS2 ends in London where eurostar begins. If HS2 terminated in say, Milton Keynes, I'd wholeheartedly agree with you. > Linking it to a program of speed improvements on connecting commuter rail would have been a cheaper vote winner Do you have any evidence for this? Any publicly available report showing even outline calculations? HS2 has always had cross party support. > before covid19 made public transit irrelevant In one way or another, the threat of covid will eventually pass. We'll still need public transport when it does.

ENIanDEM 6y ago

> HSR was never about commuting, capacity is too low It initially doubles capacity and ultimately triples it https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/260525/strategic-case.pdf https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/... (figure 4.2, p76) What would "proper connection to Europe" have looked like to you? HS2 ends in London where eurostar begins. If HS2 terminated in say, Milton Keynes, I'd wholeheartedly agree with you. > Linking it to a program of speed improvements on connecting commuter rail would have been a cheaper vote winner Do you have any evidence for this? Any publicly available report showing even outline calculations? HS2 has always had cross party support. > before covid19 made public transit irrelevant In one way or another, the threat of covid will eventually pass. We'll still need public transport when it does.