Michael Green still taking an absolute kicking from his own backbenchers. Which he responds to by suggesting they don't understand his marvellous proposals.
OMG I thought @RochdalePioneers was joking saying that Warrington to Manchester was the new high speed route.
Just turned on the news and heard Grant Schapps actually say it. What is the fucking point of having a high speed rail line from Warrington to Manchester?
We're about 10 fucking miles from Manchester! Is that what is needed to be High Speed?
Its very simple - he thinks you are stupid.
NPR was Liverpool to York. One section was Warrington to Manchester Airport to connect the Liverpool and Manchester spurs of HS2 West - the section just announced. Another section was Manchester to Leeds via Bradford - now curtailed to just clear the Manchester suburbs. The final section was a curve to connect the two eastern spurs at the top of HS2 East so that services heading out of Leeds could run through to York.
So what they are building as a "New High Speed Line" is a curve between HS2 and HS2. And a tunnel to allow it access to the east. After that? They can 4 track Standedge tunnel, but its slow access on the west then a horrible curve at the east. Not fast to Huddersfield. Then the minor bit of 4 tracking east of Huddersfield before compressing back to the existing twisty 2 track railways through Dewsbury to Leeds.
An utter utter farce, and he has the brass balls to have two alternative personas announce this as delivering the project.
They think you are stupid enough to still vote for them. Are you?
Apparently Starmer supports the cancellation of HS2E
Supported. And frankly, and...?????
The whole point in HS2 and NPR was to bypass such stupid partisan hackery. Build it over years for the benefit of centuries.
The decision has been made for better or worse, but labour complaining when their leader seems to be on the same page as Shapps is surreal
Reading through the document now. Some absolutely ludicrous claims being made. London to Leeds now via the ECML will be 20 minutes faster. 20 minutes! If they made the entire route 140mph top speed it would save 6 minutes - and that isn't the plan. So what is the plan? Closing level crossings doesn't save 14 further minutes.
And again - making trains fun raster on existing lines reduces capacity. 140mph running means longer headways which means fewer trains.
Reading more through the document. I know that @Philip_Thompson enjoyed the idea of a new high speed line to Warrington and I said "its the original part of HS2"
I was wrong. The new plan is to "upgrade and electrify" the freight line that winds its way through Widnes to a reinstated Warrington Bank Quay Low Level station, over the knackered viaduct over the ship canal and then a new line to connect to the HS2 Manchester Airport spur.
So no connection to HS2 for Liverpool other than the existing route to Crewe. And how can I put this - there are NOT creating a fast route between Liverpool and Warrington as that alignment is not remotely straight and fixing that would be mega expensive and disruptive - hence the proposed new line now scrapped.
From the document there is Good News for @TSE. The Northern Powerhouse Rail solution for you is running high speed services along the Hope Valley. He knows that the line itself is slow and the approaches to both Manchester and Sheffield are slow, and the Good News is that aside from dualling the chords at Dore and Hazel Grove you're getting nothing new.
Comments
And again - making trains fun raster on existing lines reduces capacity. 140mph running means longer headways which means fewer trains.
I was wrong. The new plan is to "upgrade and electrify" the freight line that winds its way through Widnes to a reinstated Warrington Bank Quay Low Level station, over the knackered viaduct over the ship canal and then a new line to connect to the HS2 Manchester Airport spur.
So no connection to HS2 for Liverpool other than the existing route to Crewe. And how can I put this - there are NOT creating a fast route between Liverpool and Warrington as that alignment is not remotely straight and fixing that would be mega expensive and disruptive - hence the proposed new line now scrapped.