HS2. Is it worth it and who stands to benefit from it the most?

geordiecolin

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The HS2 rail project is designed to speed up rail links between London and Birmingham and was estimated to cost £48 Billion. It has now been claimed that a report completed last summer has been suppressed by our government because the report now estimates that that price has doubled to over £104 Billion.
Is it worth it? Who is going to benefit from it and will it have any impact on parts of the Country that it does not touch?
I view these projects as cash cows for the elite to make money and government ministers and officials to receive kick backs at some point for commissioning contracts.

What do you think about it?
 
My 2 pennies worth are as follows:

First point and answer to your question is it worth it?
Answer: Yes and no.

Second point answer to your question who will benefit?
Answer: The next generations to come will.

Is it overpriced?
Answer: Yes well and truly overpriced.

Should it be abandoned?
Answer: No although i don't agree with the amount it has costed and how long it will take and the amount of buildings and areas that will be consumed by more infrastructure, The benefits of it do outway the negatives and as i said it certainly is catering for the next generations more so than the likes of us middle aged and older people who might not ever get to actually take a ride on it.

But if it helps future generations then why not. I know people will argue austerity and all that jazz and the money could have been used elsewhere, but infrastructure is always needed to be invested in.
 
I think it's a complete and utter, totally insane waste of money :mad:
I don't know the figures, but how much does it shave off the journey time from London to Birmingham... 30 minutes?
For 100 BILLION? How much will the tickets be??? :eek:

That money should be spent on updating and repairing our existing crap, pot-hole filled roads, Education & the NHS.
Every time I hear the term HS2, I want to vomit :puke:

KK
 
It was,is and will be a tool to line the pockets of the elite and those up and coming that they want to welcome to the fold.
Even if it was abandoned there are many well connected that have made fast fortunes
 
It was,is and will be a tool to line the pockets of the elite and those up and coming that they want to welcome to the fold.
Even if it was abandoned there a many well connected that have made fast fortunes
Wants scrapping. A utterly silly idea, very much like the agent Jane blonde remake. A disaster
 
As soon as driverless technology is implemented people will use trains and buses less as you will ring a company and order a driverless car to your door and you will be able to travel anywhere without having to stand on the street waiting for a dirty bus or on a platform waiting for a train.

So in my view HS2 won't be needed.
 
Wants scrapping. A utterly silly idea, very much like the agent Jane blonde remake. A disaster
It would make much more sense to connect communities further up north with each other and the south than waste so much money in the south. I think that switching to doing so or not would be a big litmus test on how this tory gov really want to be inclusive of their voters in the north
 
As soon as driverless technology is implemented people will use trains and buses less as you will ring a company and order a driverless car to your door and you will be able to travel anywhere without having to stand on the street waiting for a dirty bus or on a platform waiting for a train.

So in my view HS2 won't be needed.
What do you think is the reality of driverless cars getting introduced for the masses in the next 30 years?
 
What do you think is the reality of driverless cars getting introduced for the masses in the next 30 years?
I think people will not own cars in the future instead people will just order a car to and from work rather than own one and companies will compete to keep prices down.

I think driverless can be introduced quite quickly BUT the issue is how can you have driverless and non-driverless together on the roads surely it has to be one or the other and how you get to that point is the big problem.
 
Funnel the cash into the Norn Iron Scotland bridge instead; means that @paul7388 can take the car over for his July celebrations.

Poor me will not me partaking in the festivities over there this year. Have to stick to Glasgow ones.

Unless i can get out of a trip to Bulgaria in June that i don't want to go on:laugh:

Besides bad enough going over Erskine Bridge on a windy day f*ck going all the way to N.Ireland.
 
It would make much more sense to connect communities further up north with each other and the south than waste so much money in the south. I think that switching to doing so or not would be a big litmus test on how this tory gov really want to be inclusive of their voters in the north
Apparently the aim is to appeal more outside of London and the south, I’m a conservative member, have been years.
Been to a few meetings where discussion has been based outside of London centric issues and projects.
H2S is a massive waste and pretty pointless to many.
after the kicking they gave labour last election and the scalp of voters it would be political suicide to now ignore the north.
from what I’ve heard they will be centralising many funds and ideas on the north and itll show in future conservative initiatives.. but as always the proof is in the pudding.
 
Poor me will not me partaking in the festivities over there this year. Have to stick to Glasgow ones.

Unless i can get out of a trip to Bulgaria in June that i don't want to go on:laugh:

Besides bad enough going over Erskine Bridge on a windy day f*ck going all the way to N.Ireland.

With all that WW2 debris knocking about there’s a good chance it’d be one way trips for many. Or, like Erskine it would close once the winds hit a gentle breeze.
 
Apparently the aim is to appeal more outside of London and the south, I’m a conservative member, have been years.
Been to a few meetings where discussion has been based outside of London centric issues and projects.
H2S is a massive waste and pretty pointless to many.
after the kicking they gave labour last election and the scalp of voters it would be political suicide to now ignore the north.
from what I’ve heard they will be centralising many funds and ideas on the north and itll show in future conservative initiatives.. but as always the proof is in the pudding.
The problem for HS2 is that South Yorkshire for example does not benefit as the main HS2 line goes straight from Midlands to Leeds with one train a day diverted to Sheffield but large parts of Doncaster/Rotherham countryside will be ripped up for no benefit to the county.

Since Sheffield council (a bunch of selfish twats) got the govt to change the route from Meadowhall to Sheffield centre the whole of the county gets no benefit from HS2.
 
Oh dear Northern Rail's new trains are less reliable than the pacers.

More embarrassment for the North as the new trains are breaking down more than the rusty old pacers.

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iu
 
Like @KasinoKing and others say, its total waste of money, all to make one main rail link faster, we have to lose more land, homes, farmland, countryside, trees, countless other stuff. Only the better off are going to be able to afford the rail fares probably anyway so who really is going to benefit ? 100 Billion? I mean come on how can anyone really justify that cost vs gain??
 
Disgusting waste of money where there is such poverty in the UK WORKING familys having to use foodbanks but theres 100 Billion for a stupid new high speed train line it makes me sick
 
100 Billion

Looks like the OP asking 'who stands to benefit from it the most?' has been answered.

One thing that did make me smirk (I have to smirk when reading about UK government projects - its my coping mechanism) was that one of the reasons for the increased costs was stated as -

HS2 also failed to carry out extensive soil surveys, which has caused problems for digging and excavation, according to the project's current chairman, Allan Cook.

So this new chairman criticised them for not doing soil samples and rightly so. Soil samples are basic in construction. I have been asked to dig for some myself for a small wall in London for a Housing Association. This was a wall no higher than 6 feet. Please understand its not rocket science. It literally involves digging down and taking soil. Then sending samples for analysis. So its quite amusing that following this criticsm i read this -

But surveys have not been carried out on the latter and longer phase, Birmingham to Manchester and Birmingham to Leeds.

And that's why the price tag for the second phase of HS2 is not certain.
 
Looks like the OP asking 'who stands to benefit from it the most?' has been answered.

One thing that did make me smirk (I have to smirk when reading about UK government projects - its my coping mechanism) was that one of the reasons for the increased costs was stated as -

HS2 also failed to carry out extensive soil surveys, which has caused problems for digging and excavation, according to the project's current chairman, Allan Cook.

So this new chairman criticised them for not doing soil samples and rightly so. Soil samples are basic in construction. I have been asked to dig for some myself for a small wall in London for a Housing Association. This was a wall no higher than 6 feet. Please understand its not rocket science. It literally involves digging down and taking soil. Then sending samples for analysis. So its quite amusing that following this criticsm i read this -

But surveys have not been carried out on the latter and longer phase, Birmingham to Manchester and Birmingham to Leeds.

And that's why the price tag for the second phase of HS2 is not certain.
Of course it ever reaches South Yorkshire the Mexborough/Denaby part of the scheme, the controversial Shimmer Housing demolition, is built on wetland and flooding areas.

The area where it will be built is still being repaired today from November, the line could be closed constantly from flooding.
 
They ought to spend this hs2 money on trying to improve the flooding defences. With mention of countryside and ancient woods being destroyed, massive over costs, I can't believe a conservative govt is going full steam ahead with it. :oops:

There is always an element of govt in this country wishing to waste lots of money, you see it in the nhs management, local councils bloated with officers and planning depts etc.. rather than spend that money on things that will directly improve the quality and standard of living for the broad population. And I think we've still got the highest rail fares in europe, it's ridiculous for commuters to be getting fleeced as they are.

I suppose there is an element of prestige, of having to do it in case we fall behind other countries high speed rail travel and we end up looking backward and not advanced.
 
Read today that the construction costs for Big Ben (not Playford, the other) are increasing -

The repair bill to fix parliament’s Elizabeth Tower that houses Big Ben has increased by £18.6m to nearly £80m following the discovery of asbestos, second world war bomb damage and pollution problems.

The best thing about this one is that every existing building project starts with an Asbestos Survey.

When asbestos surveys are carried out they dont mess around because, well, its asbestos. Every part is tested. Again, not rocket science, just a case of taking samples of the construction materials for testing. Where i live its around £140 for a residential property. Would'nt like to guess what it would cost for Big Ben but its not millions, probably not 100,000's, unless of course you would be happy to sign off such extortion.

Either way, its standard procedure, one of the first thing's you do and not something you have to do twice.

In my last job if i costed a project, failed to get an asbestos survey and then had to tell my boss and client the costs were rising because of my incompetence i would have been sacked.
 

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