New high speed rail link

Don't press "Throw a brick" button, though

 

But don't mention shoes whatever you do, especially if you are asking clueless1

 

If we know what the problems are and what the answers are.....how come the Politicians don't? We are, and have been, paying for their lack of decision, mouthing of all the practised sentenced they've learnt where they speak a lot but end up, deliberately, in having said nothing.
Platforms should have been lengthened and more carriages added years ago, with a gradual upgrading of the rail network years ago. When asked why they were not doing so they pleaded poverty and having to prioritise in other more important areas. And yet here we are in the middle of at least a 5 year Double Dip Recession and yet they have suddenly discovered some money tucked under the Prime Minister's mattress to spend on a project that will not solve any of the transport problems in any way whatsoever.
I very rarely travel by train but I've never understood how people were, and are, prepared to pay astronomical sums of money for tickets on a train and have to stand up on the whole journey. Now we've got a £30 Billion plus scheme that will benefit an extremely small minority, slash through some of our best God Given countryside, have a rippling negative effect on house prices surrounding the line, affect business, and only benefit the extreme few.
Have you noticed that the political trend now is to say "Of course all of the projects we have in mind can't really be set in motion until after the next Election". I obviously don't care about the HS2 project as there are some good upgrading alternatives that would have a more positive effect on the running, the stock, and control of costs. But they're talking about other social projects and basically trying to blackmail the public to vote for them in the next General Election or...........!!

As they say, you know when a Politician is lying............when he opens his mouth.

 

Because those that want to be elected, and are eventually elected, want to have a big trophy project with their name linked to it (and probably shed loads of back-handers, or even a knighthood, which is what they really want).

 

They wouldn't want the Knighthood if I was wielding the sword, FC!!

 

It might be easier, Sheal, but I doubt that's it's that cheaper. I have several friends who commute to London every day, some from Rutand, Cheshire, Lancashire and Suffolk and at least 3, despite being highly paid, are now seriously thinking of working elsewhere because the high cost of travelling by train is making working a joke.

 

I mentioned LED street lighting earlier on, and it is one of those things along with longer platforms and longer trains that is going to be held back by lack of funding or lack of interest - yet it is one of the things that would have numerous benefits that go much further than just giving light to a street; let me explain.

Very recently, a couple of streets near me have had their old sodium lights whipped out, and new LED fellows put in their place. I admit that I was a bit sceptical when I first saw them going in, but they are absolutely fantastic.

- Gone is that dirty orange glow from the sodium lights, and now the road is lit with a pure, pure white light
- The light output is directional, and shines down onto the road and pavement, but not up into the sky or across into peoples homes
- The colour and intensity of the light is such that it makes it easier to see ice patches, and even in the snow the other week they made it easier to see what the road surface was like
- They use considerably less electricity
- They have a longer service life than conventional bulbs
- They can be or are fitted with a form of SMART technology that not only allows them to be switched on or off, or even dimmed from a central control centre, but also allows them to self-monitor and self-report faults which should cut down repair times and costs


Now, consider that this one thing was rolled out as a huge national project, and the impacts would be immense:

- Jobs created in manufacturing the lights (metal works, fabrication and coating works, and the electronic parts)
- Jobs created in installing them
- Vast amounts of savings to be made in expenditure on electricity (to give an idea, I have fitted LED lights in my kitchen replacing 3 x 50w halogens with 3 x 5w LED bulbs, so that is a 90% reduction; 90% reduction in the cost of lighting our streets is one hell of a lot of money
- The environmental benefits from the darker skies would not only benefit those of us who like to stargaze, but I believe that it would help pilots (less light pollution so they can see runways and landing approaches clearer), and I am certain that it would help our wildlife and in particular birds who are often confused by the high light levels overnight.
- The improved saturation of light should improve personal security, as there seems to be less dark patches
- Less light pollution entering homes which should give improved sleep quality
- Jobs created to recycle the old light columns

Now, it doesn't have the glory of a big fast railway, but can someone tell me where the negative is in the project above? Not least the potential 90% savings for all the years to come?

 

I'm pretty sure that they do build in tunnels etc for wildlife now - in fact, I recall reading quite recently that there was a whole load of money spent on tunnels for badgers or hedgehogs or something when a road was built. I will try searching for the story, but it might take me a long while.