Comments by "John Burns" (@johnburns4017) on "'It's a waste of time!': HS2 construction hits bump in the road" video.

@peterwilliamallen1063 HS2 needs binning ASAP. We do not not need 100 mile long commuter lines.
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@peterwilliamallen1063 You do not get it. Stop sucking in HS2 propaganda. London wants to use the existing mainlines for largely commuting. The Chiltern was downrated to a commuter line. Southern end of MML was largely turned over to Thameslink. The MML was only electrified to Bedford, where Thameslink stopped. Wise up.
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@peterwilliamallen1063 It is obvious you have little idea. The Chiltern ran the London-Birmingham/West Mids services. The WCML was electrified then all cities to the west were put on the WCML in 1966. The Chiltern Line was downgraded to a purely commuter line with many major stations on the line having their through lines removed. Despite the downgrade Chiltern Railways saw a slot then reintroduced a London-Birmingham service on this slow diesel line after about a 20 year gap. HS2 need 100% cancelling, except for the London to Aylesbury section as the Chiltern tunnels are already under construction, so may as well keep them. Merge this section of HS2 into the Chiltern then upgrade the Chiltern. As the Chiltern is a more direct route, it will match HS2 times to Birmingham. Then the WCML south of Birmingham is relieved of Birmingham trains, giving great gains there. Also, commuting to London from around Aylesbury will be faster with more trains. Th rest of the country needs the bottleneck removed on the WCML, ECML & MML. Also full in-cab digital signalling with faster trains (Alstom Liberty does 180mph on existing track). What is also needed is a bypass tunnel under Crewe station. Gt.Central from Aylesbury to Leicester needs reopening for passengers and freight. This will add two extra tracks to the WCML from Rugby to London.
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@peterwilliamallen1063 London by stealth has stolen the southern end of mainlines for its commuters. So London wanted another line to extend its commuter belt.... and take some of the mainline traffic.
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@peterwilliamallen1063 Capacity is NOT a problem. That is HS2 Ltd propaganda. HS2 needs halting at Aylesbury. The Chiltern tunnels are underway so build them. Run HS2 track onto an upgraded Chiltern line - it is still only diesel. Call it another name as HS2 is a red rag to a bull. London to Birmingham will be about the same journey time as HS2 as the route is more direct. HS2 London to Birmingham is 52 mins according to the DfT. Quite slow for a high speed line. Then open up 40 miles of Beeching cut track from Aylesbury to the WCML at Rugby. Make it 4-track with two slow tracks serving the towns along the route. This will give high speed track from London to the WCML at Rugby. This will give two extra tracks for the WCML into London via Aylesbury. So the Birmingham and West Mids train will be off the WCML. WCML has more capacity. London gets what it wants: * The London to Aylesbury commuter corridor has faster and more trains. * The London to MK commuter corridor has faster and more trains. BoJo gets a face saving way out and kudos, opening up a Beeching closure. For the East Mids... The Aylesbury to Rugby line can extend to Leicester (It is the old Gt.Central) then connect onto the MML, so giving extra capacity to the MML. This is the best way out... and far cheaper. A no-brainer.
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HS2 reminds me of the USSR. Officials had reserved lanes in roads just for them. HS2 will be so expensive few will use it except HMG men and rich finance people. At least the Soviets were up front. We do it by another means that cons people.
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So Birmingham will get its THIRD line to London.
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@jermainetrainallen6416 Any gain from HS2 over upgrading the existing network is so minimal it does not justify the horrendous cost.
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@jermainetrainallen6416 Capacity is NOT a problem. That is HS2 Ltd propaganda. HS2 needs halting at Aylesbury. The Chiltern tunnels are underway so build them. Run HS2 track onto an upgraded Chiltern line at Aylesbury - it is still only diesel. Call it another name as HS2 is a red rag to a bull. London to Birmingham will be about the same journey time as HS2 as the route is more direct. HS2 London to Birmingham is 52 mins according to the DfT. Quite slow for a high speed line. Then open up 40 miles of Beeching cut track from Aylesbury to the WCML at Rugby. Make it 4-track with two slow tracks serving the towns along the route. This will give high speed track from London to the WCML at Rugby. This will give two extra tracks for the WCML into London via Aylesbury. So the Birmingham and West Mids train will be off the WCML. WCML has more capacity. London gets what it wants: * The London to Aylesbury commuter corridor has faster and more trains. * The London to MK commuter corridor has faster and more trains. BoJo gets a face saving way out and kudos, opening up a Beeching closure. For the East Mids... The Aylesbury to Rugby line can extend to Leicester (It is the old Gt.Central) then connect onto the MML, so giving extra capacity to the MML. This is the best way out... and far cheaper. A no-brainer.
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@jermainetrainallen6416 Capacity is NOT a problem, and less so since Covid and Zoom. Understand what I write. On the Chiltern the most used section is the London commuting section. Having a new fast line from Old Oak Common to Aylesbury give more capacity on that section. Upgrading the Chiltern will mean some 4-tracking in parts and reintroducing the passing loops at some stations. The only section of the network that had a potential future capacity problem was the WCML south of MK. Taking the B'ham trains off the WCML also relieves that section. Reuse the Beeching cut lines from Aylesbury to the WCML at Rugby, gives a high speed line from London to the WCML at Rugby via Aylesbury. Then the WCML gets two extra tracks into London. All his adds so much value for a pittance to the full HS2. All official reports on HS2 have mentioned that expanding and upgrading the existing network was never seriously looked into. read the likes of Christian Wolmar, Michael Byng, etc.
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HS2 need halting at Aylesbury. The Chiltern tunnels are underway so build them. Run HS2 track onto an upgraded Chiltern line - it is still only diesel. Call it another name as HS2 is a red rag to a bull. London to Birmingham will be about the same journey time as HS2 as the route is more direct. HS2 London to Birmingham is 52 mins according to the DfT. Quite slow for a high speed line. Then open up 40 miles of Beeching cut track from Aylesbury to the WCML at Rugby. Make it 4-track with two slow tracks serving the towns along the route. This will give high speed track from London to the WCML at Rugby. This will give two extra tracks for the WCML into London via Aylesbury. So the Birmingham and West Mids train will be off the WCML. WCML has more capacity. London gets what it wants: * The London to Aylesbury commuter corridor has faster and more trains. * The London to MK commuter corridor has faster and more trains. BoJo gets a face saving way out and kudos, opening up a Beeching closure. For the East Mids... The Aylesbury to Rugby line can extend to Leicester (It is the old Gt.Central) then connect onto the MML, so giving extra capacity to the MML. This is the best way out... and far cheaper. A no-brainer.
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