[nito]

Originally Posted by New Brisavoine

An article in The Economist this week admiring the speedy construction of the high-speed line between Tours and Bordeaux, of which I talked on the previous page (post #510), and comparing this with the fate of HS2 in England which is stuck in the sand (financial considerations, NIMBYs, lack of big engineering firms in the UK, etc).

Whilst HS2 and Tours to Bordeaux are both high-speed rail projects, they aren’t really comparable in what they are attempting to deliver; the latter is a relatively uncomplicated railway project running through areas with low population density and limited catchment (Tours, Poitiers, Angoulême, & Bordeaux have a combined urban population of c.1.1mn) with limited engineering obstacles.

HS2 in contrast is quite possibly the largest and most complicated proposed infrastructure project in Europe at the moment. It will connect eight of the top ten largest urban areas in England with 400m long trains operating at 400km/h, and involves problematical engineering hurdles through densely populated and scenic protected environments. The majority of the route is either in tunnel, cutting or viaduct, and will require the construction of several expensive stations to accommodate the 400m long trains. For instance, when HS2 departs London Euston it immediately enters a tunnel and doesn’t emerge (with the exception of Old Oak Common station which will be in a giant trench similar to Stratford International) until the outskirts of London. HS2 also includes a link to HS1 allowing for potential through-services from Northern England to the continent, and potential for a future spur line to Heathrow.

Complicating matters further is that the projected passenger volumes on HS2 mean that the network isn’t a self-contained project and would require additional improvements across the wider network. For example at London Euston, HS2 is simply unworkable without the construction of Crossrail 2 (c. 28-35 route km of new tunnelling) which would be one of Europe’s largest infrastructure projects in its own right.

You also have to keep in mind the intensity and scope of HS2; the line is expected to be used by 380,000 passengers each day, comparable to the entire French TGV and German ICE networks. London to Birmingham is envisioned to be used by 148,000 passengers each day, with trains running every fifteen minutes at the peak with journey time equivalent to Oxford Circus to Epping on the Central Line.

Finally, whilst there are those against the project, that is part of the democratic planning process, and understandable considering the scale & impact that HS2 will have on multiple urban areas, large areas of protected landscape and the wider UK. A lack of ‘big’ engineering firms also isn’t causing problems with Crossrail (currently Europe’s biggest urban infrastructure project). The HS2 project is also not ‘stuck in the sand’; the hybrid bill for Phase I is currently progressing through Parliament (http://services.parliament.uk/bills/...tmidlands.html) with construction anticipated to commence in 2017, and Phase I opening in 2026 (http://www.hs2.org.uk/about-hs2/key-dates). Phase II is projected to be complete by 2030-33, however there is growing appetite for the construction schedule to be accelerated to bring the Phase II opening date closer to Phase I.