(16 May 2013, 7:13 am)Kuyoyo wrote Yet more ill-informed bystanders - the £32billion being spend on HS2 can only be spent on HS2 by the DfT. If HS2 were to be cancelled, that money would be reallocated to another Government department. So, basically, HS2 is the only rail project that money will be spent on.
Despite criticism from the National Audit Office, the Department for Transport is kicking on with the development of plans for the High Speed 2 rail scheme.
The DfT has published two more consultation documents for the route between London and the West Midlands – phase one of HS2. These are the draft environmental statement (ES) and the design refinements consultations.
Publication of the draft ES is considered a key step towards delivering the Hybrid Bill for the HS2 route between London and the West Midlands. The formal ES will be published alongside the Hybrid Bill later this year, with refinements reflecting consultation responses.
The draft ES details likely significant environmental impacts and the plans to mitigate them.
Although a report from the NAO today said that the government had failed to make the case for the project (see earlier report here), transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin insisted that it was “vital”.
He said: “HS2 is absolutely vital for this country, providing a huge economic boost which will generate a return on investment that will continue paying back for generations to come. But you cannot build a new railway line without causing some disruption.
“What we can and will do is ensure that disruption is kept to a minimum by using the very latest design and construction methods.
“We are confident that through continued hard work we can ensure that many of the feared effects of HS2 never materialise. We also know that the best design for the scheme can only be reached with the input of local communities, environmental groups and all levels of government."
Alongside the draft ES, the DfT has published a series of design refinements for the HS2 route between London and the West Midlands, for further consultation.
Environmental mitigation measures set out include using technology to cut the noise of the trains, such as by eliminating the gaps between train carriages to boost their aerodynamic efficiency.
Drawing on Japanese expertise, HS2 trains could also be fitted with wheel farings, like on a Citroen DS car, to cut the noise made by the wheels on rails – the biggest source of noise on any electrified railway.
Around 70% of the line’s surface sections between London and the West Midlands will be insulated by cuttings, landscaping and fencing, helping it to harmonise with the landscape.
Earth removed for track laying could be used beside it as noise-absorbing bunds, cutting the amount of earth that has to be transported and therefore reducing the number of tipper truck journeys which create congestion, disruption and pollution.
The most significant proposed design refinement being consulted on for phase one includes tunnelling under Ealing and Northolt in northwest London, and at Bromford in the West Midlands. Also published for consultation are revised proposals to redevelop and improve Euston Station to accommodate high speed trains for HS2 without having to knock down and rebuild the entire station.
High Speed rail costs are 'bonkers' warns North East LEP chief
14 Nov 2013 08:02
North East local enterprise partnership chief hits out at the Government's high speed rail plans
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The Government's proposed high-speed rail line is still causing controversyThe Government's proposed high-speed rail line is still causing controversy
A £50bn high speed rail plan to reduce Newcastle to London journeys by 15 minutes is “bonkers on the biggest scale possible,” a former senior Treasury official has said.
Ed Twiddy, chief executive of the North East local enterprise partnership responsible for creating thousands of jobs, said it was incredible that the Government was spending money on a project which brought such little gain to the regions.
He was speaking as the partnership set out how it has spent millions of pounds on key employment sites across the region.
Business leaders had gathered in Durham to hear the partnership go over some of the issues still facing the region, including:
A delay in bringing in offshore jobs to Tyneside blamed on Government energy policy,
A warning that UKTI was failing the region,
And a call for unity in fighting for the region’s needs.
Mr Twiddy, who was deputy director of local government in the Treasury, said the 15 minutes improvement to journey times as a result of a new high speed rail network would be “taken back from you” by an expected increase in freight rail use as a result of the Port of Tyne successfully growing its business.
The chief executive said the region was right to put the £200m reopening of the Leamside line on its list of must-win priorities, saying that “if we get that we will have a line for freight running parallel to the East Coast Main Line, meaning the ECML can be left to do what it was intended to do.”
North East LEP chief executive Edward Twiddy speaking as Paul Woolston looks onNorth East LEP chief executive Edward Twiddy
Steve Brock
Adding extra caution on the high speed rail finances, he said: “It’s not even a very innovative piece of infrastructure. It is the sort of thing that has been going on in Japan for 30 years, so we are spending all this money for no innovation. We are spending money on something the rest of the world already has, we can’t export that skill.”
Mr Twiddy was speaking before business leaders gather to see what the partnership has achieved. Set up by the coalition Government, it is increasingly tasked with leading on major infrastructure and job creation spending.
He was asked to explain why some Enterprise Zones sites had yet to bring in big name businesses despite generous tax allowances, suggesting wasted opportunities to reduce the region’s unemployment.
The chief executive said there had been no shortage of inquiries, but had yet to be enough people finish the deal. He pointed to government offshore wind energy policy as creating some uncertainties for firms looking to build huge turbines many miles out to sea. And he added: “Obviously energy firms looking to take long term decisions will also be aware of the potential freeze in energy prices. While that is going on it is inevitable that some firms will think they don’t have the clarity they need for decision that needs 25 years or more to see a return.”
Many of the firms attending the Durham County Cricket Club event welcomed criticisms of UKTI, the national quango tasked with bringing in foreign investment. A group representing the chemical industry said the two enquiries a month they used to receive when the region had its own development agency had “reduced to zero.”
This, Mr Twiddy said, was because UKTI had no geographical targets, adding that “there is a national target and they can meet that without even leaving the M25.”
His comments echo those of new Newcastle Gateshead Initiative chairman Paul Callaghan, who last month told The Journal he was concerned UKTI was not doing enough for North East job creation.
(23 Jun 2014, 8:04 pm)Andreos Constantopolous wrote http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-27971552Or resolved the issue with transport outside of London not integrating with one another. We'll spend millions on a rail link to get people between Birmingham (which is a dump anyway), and London quicker. Yet Joe Bloggs is still unable to use their Megarider on the Metro or an Arriva bus.
As HS2 is yet to be finalised, Gideon today announced his big, bold idea of HS3, linking Manchester to Leeds.
So HS2, will link Leeds and Manchester to Birmingham and London - whilst having a HS3 linking the two cities together.
Whatever the flaws are in relation to HS2, it seems the Government still haven't cottoned on to the idea that there are people, towns, cities and businesses beyond Leeds and Manchester...
Lucrative work for the UK’s proposed high-speed railway line will be launched this week when HS2, the company set up to promote the project, holds a sold-out conference ahead of releasing £10bn of tenders.
Significant contracts, including a £60m job assessing the condition of the land between Birmingham and London, are due to be awarded next month, with the rest to follow soon after as competition accelerates for work on the line.
More than 1,000 companies are signed up for two conferences in London and Manchester during the next fortnight, in a guest list that reads like a who’s who of the construction and engineering industry, including ArcelorMittal, Siemens, Bechtel and Mace.
Other contracts due to be released during the next few months include one worth £2.9bn for early stage tunnelling work; £2.7bn for the surface route; £2.6bn for stations; £600m for enabling works; £1.5bn for railway systems; and £350m for design services.
The tenders come even though Britain’s second high-speed railway line remains controversial and is not due to receive Royal Assent until after the election.
Construction is not expected to start on the first phase of HS2, between London and Birmingham, until 2017, with completion due in 2026. A second Y-shaped section from Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds is due to be finished in 2032-33.
MPs are still in the process of scrutinising nearly 2,000 objections to the HS2 bill. A committee of six MPs will spend months listening to evidence from those who will be affected by the project.
Despite this, increasing amounts of preparation work are going ahead. HS2 Ltd already employs 1,000 staff and is hiring a person every day. It has spent £3bn since it was set up by the government in 2012. The cost of the project in its entirety is estimated at £42.6bn over 20 years, making it one of the most expensive railways in the world. A further £7.5bn is needed for the high-speed trains.
Competition for the contracts is expected to be intense, with the biggest international construction and transport companies already seeking work. East Japan Railway, a Japanese rail network operator, has opened an office in London, in part to prepare for work on HS2, while Hitachi, a Japanese rail company, has moved the headquarters of its rail business to Britain in what is seen as a pre-emptive move to win the contract to build 180mph trains for the line.
The project will provide a lifeline for the construction industry, which has struggled during the recession.
Simon Kirby, one of several former Network Rail executives who has joined HS2, said it was “determined to build on Crossrail’s success where 97 per cent of contracts were placed with UK-based firms”.
But Martin Blaiklock, a consultant who is also a former director of utilities at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, has challenged this assumption. According to his research, just 27 per cent – or £1.75bn out of £6bn – of the design and construction contracts for Crossrail by value went to UK owned and controlled companies.
Although much of this work will have gone to UK-based subcontractors, who employ staff in the UK, ownership is important because it helps to determine who will accrue long-term gains – such as skills and management – from working on the project and whether they are paying corporation tax in the UK.
Mr Blaiklock said: “Given the results of such analysis for Crossrail, it seems highly questionable, therefore, as to how much experience and knowhow on High Speed 2 will benefit the UK.”
(23 Jun 2014, 8:04 pm)Andreos1 wrote Whatever the flaws are in relation to HS2, it seems the Government still haven't cottoned on to the idea that there are people, towns, cities and businesses beyond Leeds and Manchester...
(16 Oct 2014, 3:40 pm)Dan wrote Or between!
HS2: Stoke-on-Trent launches business case for station
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sto...e-29619287
Some other news articles related to HS2 yesterday/today too...
Stoke-on-Trent launches business case for HS2 hub
Read more: http://buyingbusinesstravel.com/news/152...se-hs2-hub
Staffordshire HS2 village criticises council's 'compromise'
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sto...e-29610812
(15 Nov 2014, 10:20 pm)Andreos1 wrote http://metro.co.uk/2014/11/15/japans-lev...s-4949728/
Makes HS2 look like a crawl!
(16 Nov 2014, 12:48 pm)AdamY wrote Agreed. This is the standard of railway design Britain should be aspiring towards in my opinion. At over 300 mph, London to Newcastle could be done in under an hour and a half with time included for stops.
(24 Sep 2015, 9:07 am)Michael wrote Don't want High Speed 2..... pointless and a waste of money, it only works in the like of Japan because they built it years ago.... lolI think there are a few flaws in the whole idea.
(24 Sep 2015, 9:25 am)Andreos1 wrote I think there are a few flaws in the whole idea.
The fact Gideon is encouraging Chinese firms to bid (that may or may not include Chinese steel), at the possible expense of British firms (and locally produced steel), sort of makes the situation worse.
I am not sure if he has seen the irony in his claims that HS2, could boost the British Economy. The economy could be in a worse state, as a result of the continued obsession to bring foreign investment into the country.
(30 Nov 2015, 10:24 am)Michael wrote HS2 Birmingham to Crewe link to open six years early
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34958154
(30 Nov 2015, 12:59 pm)BusLoverMum wrote Wow. That'll make a huge difference to how grim it is up north.