Mediaballs - Grauniad on Dave's China jolly

This from the Gruaniad...

China wants involvement in Britain's first high-speed rail line and an increased role in civil nuclear power, the country's premier said in Beijing after talks with David Cameron on the first day of the prime minister's visit.

Hmmm... admittedly UK PLC may be a little behind the People's Republic on high speed rail but Li Keqiang may find a clue in the new railway's title: HS2.

No matter.

Meanwhile, there is one area where Britain could certainly learn from our Chinese friends.

An equally robust approach to our own former railway ministers would do much pour encourager les autres!

East Coast tops greyhounds league

This from the late Sir Nigel Gresley...

In the week that we celebrate the setting of the world speed record for steam by my locomotive Mallard, how cheering to read that locomotive hauled trains on the East Coast Main Line still reign supreme on the UK rails.

According to the latest Railway Gazette International world speed survey in that eximious journal's July issue:

"Perhaps surprisingly, Britain’s two fastest runs are found on the conventional network, with East Coast’s 18.55 York to Stevenage pipping Virgin Trains’ 19.42 Stafford to Watford Junction to the top spot with an average of 109.7 mph (176.6 km/h) for 161 miles. 

"Southeastern’s fast commuter services on High Speed 1 take third place with a best timetabled booking of 107.6 mph (173.1 km/h)."

It is clear that Italian tilting EMUs and even Japanese EMUs running at 140 mile/h on high speed track are no match for British heavy metal on the incomparable racing ground that is the ECML.  

And, of course that is running at only 125 mile/h when the IC225 has a top speed of 140 mile/hour and achieved 162 mile/h down Stoke Bank - scene of Mallard's triumph - during a test run,

This should give the Department for Transport even more cause to reconsider its ludicrous proposal to force bidders for the East Coast franchise to replace IC225 with the Incredibly Expensive Procurement.

HS2 unveils video...

This slightly strange video has been released by HS2 Limited.


 
Eye wonders if the odd shape of the passengers' heads points towards trains built in Germany?

UPDATE: This from Rabid Burns...

I notice in the map just before the end that the right hand branch of the "Y" in Scotland, avoids Edinburgh and crosses the Forth to serve Fife. 

Is this down to Lobbying by Fife Council? Do the good burghers of Edinburgh know? 

I think we should be told! 
 

Chair of PAC on HS1

This from the Public Accounts Committee...

NATIONAL AUDIT OFFICE: The completion and sale of High Speed 1

A statement from The Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP, Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts:

I am yet to be convinced that HS1 will prove to be value for money. Yet again we hear that value for money will depend on uncertain benefits which have not been quantified. We will want the department to do all it can to realise the benefits and turn this sorry story round.

Compared to the staggering mismanagement of the West Coast Mainline upgrade, the department did relatively well with the construction of HS1. But that is damning with very faint praise indeed. It’s a sad state of affairs when it comes as no surprise that HS1 was based on dodgy assumptions and bad planning.

Don't be so coy Margaret, tell us what you really think!

Transport Select Committee on HS2

Lots of huffing and puffing from pro and antis today over exactly what the Transport Select Committee said about HS2.

So here is what the TSC actually said in their press release:

Good case for high speed rail to run to Birmingham and beyond, say MPs

There is a good case for a high speed rail network, linking London and the major cities of the Midlands, the North and Scotland says the Transport Committee.

Launching High Speed Rail – the report of the inquiry into high speed rail, including the Government’s proposal for HS2 – Committee chair Louise Ellman said,

“A high speed rail network, beginning with a line between London and the West Midlands, would provide a step change in the capacity, quality, reliability and frequency of rail services between our major cities.

“A high speed line offers potential economic and strategic benefits which a conventional line does not, including a dramatic improvement in connectivity between our major cities, Heathrow and other airports, and the rest of Europe.

“High speed rail may be a catalyst for economic growth, helping to rebalance the economy and bridge the north-south divide. But the Government must do more to promote local and regional growth strategies to ensure we get maximum economic benefit from high speed rail.

“High speed rail is affordable: HS2 will cost around £2 billion per annum over 17 years. Construction of a high speed rail network should start with the line between London and the West Midlands, as this is where capacity needs are greatest. But we are concerned that under current plans high speed rail lines won’t reach Manchester and Leeds for more than 20 years.

“The Government should also look at options to build southwards from the north and link to other lines such as the Midland Main Line. We see no reason why the Scottish Government should not begin work on a Scottish high speed line, to connect with the English network in due course.

“Investment in HS2 must not lead to reduced investment in the ‘classic’ rail network. We are concerned that the Government is developing separate strategies for rail and aviation, with HS2 separate from both. We call again for the publication of a comprehensive transport strategy.

“Investment in high speed rail has potential to boost growth but may have a substantial negative impact on the countryside, communities and people along the route. This must be better reflected in the business case for HS2 and future phases of the project. We would encourage the Government to follow existing transport corridors wherever possible.”

The Transport Committee sets out a series of recommendations on high speed rail:

• The Government must firmly commit to the Y network before seeking parliamentary approval for HS2.

• If the Government decides to go ahead with HS2, it should publish a summary of the financial case showing how the project is affordable alongside sustained investment in the classic network as well as its priorities for expenditure in the next Network Rail control period (for 2014-19).
  
  
• More information about the Y network (to Leeds and Manchester) such as the location of stations and environmental impacts should be published and strategically appraised before a final decision on HS2 is made.
  
  
• A full assessment of the case for building from north to south should be carried out as a priority.
  
  
• It is disappointing that a major strategic scheme is being designed and assessed to a large extent based upon the value of travel time savings, which are not universally accepted. This issue should be addressed in the updated economic case for HS2 with the implications for scheme design made explicit.
  
  
• The Government needs to make clear how HS2 fits into its wider aviation strategy, looking again at the case for a direct link to Heathrow in phase I on the assumption that the high speed rail network will extend to Manchester and Leeds. The costs and benefits of routing HS2 via Heathrow should be set out more clearly and there should be a clear statement about the status of possible complementary schemes such as those which would link Heathrow by rail to Gatwick or the Great Western Main Line.
  
  
• Better information should be provided to explain the Government’s rationale for its proposals for London termini and linkages, which are the most expensive and complex elements of HS2.
  
  
• Operating 18 trains per hour at 225mph are risk factors for which more technical information should be published. It is questionable whether the system proposed is being designed with sufficient margin for expansion.
  
  
• Claims that HS2 would deliver substantial carbon-reduction benefits do not stand up to scrutiny. However, HS2 will produce less carbon than an expanded motorway network or greater domestic aviation in the event of increased demand for inter-urban travel.
  
  
• Government support to enable the full potential of high speed rail to be realised, - including funding, for the development of regional and local strategies for transport, housing, skills and employment - should be recognised as a priority.
  
  
• When announcing its decision on HS2, the Government should provide a more explicit and comprehensive statement about likely patterns of service on the classic network once HS2 is operational.
  
  
• The Government should engage with Network Rail to identify whether there are affordable options to enable more peak-time capacity to be provided for Milton Keynes and Northampton commuters before HS2 opens.
  
  
• The Government should desist from disparaging opponents of high speed rail as NIMBYs. Both sides in the debate should show respect for each other and focus on the facts.

The full TSC report can be found here.

Railway Eye supports HS2, providing the Government shows it is serious about rebalancing the economy by starting construction in the North.

Pay attention Beggy, Steer, Hammond and others

And of course you Wolmar!

View, mark and inwardly digest - with a bowler tip to @TonyVeitchUK.



And then steal the idea.

You know it makes sense.

HS1 flogged to the Canucks

This from Sharecast.com...

LONDON (SHARECAST) - The government has sold the right to run the high speed rail link between London and the Channel Tunnel to a Canadian consortium for £2.1bn.

The purchase of High Speed 1 gives the consortium, which comprises two Canadian pension funds, operating rights over running the line and the stations along it for 30 years.

Transport Minister Philip Hammond said the sale price ‘exceeds the highest expectations for the sale.’

He said it would help the government to reduce the deficit

Eye respectfully suggests to the Rt Hon Petrol-head that he uses this cash windfall to buy some much needed new trains for the rest of the network.

But not IEPs, obviously.

The IEP is dead - long live Mercury

Telegrammed by Leo Pink
Full marks for timing to Industrial Stylists Priestmangoode.

The whizzy design house obviously had some spare time on the Computer Graphics terminal and come up with this totally impractical, but amazingly sexy, front end for what they claim is the concept for the UK’s newest high speed train.

We love the six inch high multipane windscreen which looks as if it was cribbed from the Starship Enterprise.

Or, could those be disco lights underneath an amazingly swept back windscreen.


It's been unveiled as a pre-emptive move to persuade the government of the urgent need to move forward as soon as possible with the high speed line project.

Called Mercury, its progenitors say it could be the 'new Great British design icon, following in the footsteps of Concorde, the Spitfire, Rolls Royce and the Routemaster bus and reawakening Britain’s authority as a global leader in design and technology'.

Shouldn't Kenneth Grange's timeless IC125 front end be in that list?

According to the aponymous Paul Priestman, 'designer of the iconic Virgin Pendolino' "whilst the economic and political benefits of a world-class high speed rail network are clearly understood, having a train to be proud of is equally important".

If only Stuart Baker had thought of building national pride into IEP's incredible shrinking Benefit Cost Ratio!

But forget the exterior of the train, "designed to emulate design classics such as Concorde, the Spitfire and Rolls Royce", what about the interior? Grab this!!

Introducing an entirely new concept in the way we travel, the train will incorporate a flexible, open plan design allowing for interaction, space and relaxation without compromising privacy. Both commuting and longer haul journeys will be more relaxed, comfortable and akin to modern living, featuring traditional commuter seats (designed to incorporate in-transit entertainment systems) alongside private berths – for families, private parties or business meetings echoing the nostalgia of compartmental train travel. A children’s play area will be integrated into the train and a luxury first class section will mirror the choice offered to air travellers with a luxury lounge and bar.

At last the pleas of the sage of Effingham Junction for compartmental stock have fallen on a receptive ear.

Can it ever happen?

Well as Priestmangoode point out. "Britain has an unrivalled record of great transport engineering projects – a record that died with Concorde".

Along with 75 Germans, if we recall rightly.

Angel appoints Rowlands as Chairman - Doomed

Telegrammed by the Raver
So Sir David Rowlands has become Chairman of Angel Trains.


What a busy life he leads!

How he packs it all in we will never know.

According to Angel's puff piece Rowlands is also:

...chairman of London Gatwick Airport... a member of the Royal Automobile Club Foundation’s public policy committee... a governor of Anglia Ruskin University and deputy chairman of The Lifeboat Fund, a public service charity.

Not forgetting of course his current position as non-executive Chairman of High Speed 2 - a role he relinquishes in February this year.

Strange that a man who tried to squeeze the rail industry when he was Permanent Secretary at the Department now seems to be profiting from it in all sorts of ways.

Nice work if you can get it.

UPDATE: This from Sir Humphrey Beeching...

The Raver appears to have omitted Sir David's great gift for PR and media relations.

Why only last September he managed to infuriate RAIL by issuing a statement denying a story that his own staff had briefed out to the media.

Angel's loss will surely be HS2's gain!

Europe's High Speed Railways stuck in the past

This from the BBC with a bowler tip to the Commuter...

Railteam, the alliance of European high-speed rail operators, has shelved plans for a Europe-wide common booking system because of increasing costs... The new system would have created a one-stop-shop for tickets for complete high-speed journeys across Europe.

So whilst nearly everybody is now convinced that High Speed Rail is the right method of travelling around Europe it would appear that the flabby state owned operators still can't be arsed to offer their customers single transaction ticketing.

Europe's railways - the transport of tomorrow (if you're living in the 1950s).

UPDATE: This from D1062...

Whilst the European ticketing dream alluded to is mere pie in the sky, there are a couple of institutions well served to guide you through the maze of European ticketing and serve as a one stop shop (albeit one that will give you lots of tickets) this side of the border.

I can recommend Deutsche Bahn UK (have your details ready and email them, they will call you back - ruthlessly efficient), and Ffestiniog Travel. Note for any rail staff, Ffestiniog Travel do not issue European FIP tickets.

UPDATE: This from the Globetrotter...

I am no apologist for Railteam, but as one who actually attended the presentation in Brussels last week (unlike the BBC), can I comment on your recent report.

The cancellation of the Broker ticketing system is really no surprise, given that it was hugely ambitious to try and develop something that could sell tickets from any station in Europe to any other, comparing and combining all the different fare options for each leg. After all, as any Doe can tell you it's bad enough negotiating the UK fares minefield alone! If Railteam are to be faulted, it is perhaps for thinking that it could all be achieved for EUR30m in the first place.

According to ticketing insiders, the biggest problem was combining 'closed' ticketing systems like SNCF and Eurostar, where inter-city trains are reservation-only, with the German camp that favours an 'open' walk-on strategy.

Because of EU competition rules, Railteam cannot set fares itself, but only act as a joint marketing facility. So as a more realistic option, the partners are negotiating bilateral agreements which will, I am told, put in place a basket of international fares between 7,000 principal destinations, to be sold via www.railteam.eu. There may also be zonal add-ons for connecting journeys to and from these hubs.

Because airlines only serve a relatively limited number of O-D pairs, we have come to expect that through tickets can be booked and paid for online with one or two clicks. Given that there are so many more rail destinations, the options are orders of magnitude greater.

Only when airlines start to sell multi-modal through tickets from Little Piddling to Jernbacksnortle via Gatwick and Frankfurt, can we realistically demand that rail operators do the same. (Even assuming that the EU will let them!).

HS2 will create a nation of Pimbys - Official

Exciting news from the High Speed Evangelist.

The Noble Lord is planning to release the proposed route for HS2 in the New Year and with cross party support!

So convinced is Lord Adonis of overwhelming backing for High Speed rail that he confidently predicts a transformation in Middle England's mindset from Nimby to Pimby.

Please in my back yard!

PM bounces back from depression slur

Good news for Labour Party members in Brighton!

This from Railnews...

Prime Minister 'excited' by high speed rail and a new Age of the Train

And, Andrew Marr please note, not a happy pill in sight!

UPDATE: This from Steve Strong...

Don't be so sure - with the numbers involved (£35bn) it's probably electric shock therapy.

High Speed Rail - the new consensus in politics

The Tories confirmed their commitment to a high speed line at today's High Speed Rail Summit.

Theresa Villiers said:

If we are elected, our plans for a new line to Manchester and Leeds will go ahead. We have carefully costed our proposal. We are confident that it’s workable and that it’s affordable. We stick by our commitment. We will deliver on it.

And on this project as in all our endeavours if we are elected to serve this country as its Government value for money will be a guiding principle.

To those who say it makes no sense to embark on this great task, given the state of the public finances, I have four points to make.

Firstly even with the most optimistic forecasts the planning and preparation needed is likely to take at least 4 to 5 years so the major spend is unlikely to begin before 2015.

Secondly, however great the efforts we make, the period of construction will inevitably be a long one. So the taxpayer’s contribution will be stretched over the 12 years it would take to deliver the complete line up to Manchester and Leeds relieving the pressure on budgets in individual years.

Thirdly every credible study indicates that the West Coast Main Line will be full, some time between 2015 and 2020. Expecting aviation or our congested motorways to meet the resulting capacity pressure is neither practical nor environmentally acceptable.

Given the lead times involved in building new railways, we can no longer put off the decision on a new line. Within ten years, extra capacity on the West Coast corridor will not be a “nice to have luxury” it will be a pressing necessity. It would be hugely short sighted to embark on a new conventional line when the cost uplift for high speed rail is probably 30% at most.

And fourthly and finally study after study shows that over time high speed rail will pay for itself not least the report published by Network Rail just a few weeks ago.

So twelve years before its complete with planning/preparation beginning in 2010/11 and construction to start in 2015ish - 'value for money' allowing.

Expect a continuing role for My Lord Adonis after the General Election judging by this in the same speech...

I welcome the establishment of the HS2 company. I should make it clear that I am grateful both to Sir David Rowlands for keeping me so well informed on its work and to the Secretary of State for not just permitting but actively encouraging him to do so.

Is it possible? Can it be?

Is there the very real danger that High Speed Rail is the new political consensus?

Heseltine backs NR

Former Minister Michael Heseltine has just come out in favour of Network Rail's new high speed rail proposals!

And on Radio 4's 'Any Questions'.

Mind you he was part of the government that built the Channel Tunnel!

Network Rail plays with political fire

We know that Number 10 is annoyed.

We know that tomorrow morning the Chief Executive of Network Rail is to give a presentation entitled:

"Meeting the rail capacity challenge - the case for new high speed lines."

Do we know what's in it? Possibly.

Have all the right people been invited? Maybe.

Has anyone a serious clue as to what's going on? Nobody!

Alas.

What with it being the Silly Season and all, industry hacks have been inundated with calls from the 'mejia' desperate to know what tomorrow is all about.

Yet more woe!

Nobody seems to have been briefed yet.

Although those with a wireless may benefit by tuning into 97.2 on the FM dial tomorrow morning...

No matter.

What are we to make of this?

Eye offers the following back-of-a-fag-packet offering (takes deep breath)...

NR have done lots of Route Utilisation Strategies (a good thing).

So they should know where the future capacity issues are (another good thing).

Logically they should plan (as both track supplier and Infrastructure Controller) to address these capacity issues (a very good thing) by suggesting new High Speed railways (even Adonis can't fault this).

Of course these new High Speed lines need to connect with the "classic railway" otherwise it will be a complete disaster.

Also NR has been working on this before Lord Adonis was invented and HS2 conceived (both also very good things).

So in the current economic climate it would be a great wickedness to throw all that work and knowledge away.

So Eye hopes that tomorrow will reveal a well though out RUS for future High Speed lines.

Something that David Rowlands of HS2 and Lord Adonis will be able to welcome.

And even something that our taciturn but cricket loving Prime Minister will be prepared to embrace.

Meanwhile, enter Eye's latest exciting new survey on who should give future direction on High Speed rail (eyes right!)

Pistols at dawn

Telegrammed by Leo Pink
Isn't it typical, you wait for years for a proposals for a new UK high speed line network then two come along.

Next week Network Rail will pre-empt the report from the Department of Transport's own company High speed Two Ltd, promised by the end of the year, with its own "costed and detailed business case for a new high speed line".

DfT Rail is reported to be puzzled by this. 'What have high speed lines got to do with Network Rail' is the view in Marsham Street?'

Network Rail point out that their High Speed Line study was underway long before HS2 Ltd was even thought of.

So a tip of the bowler to Iain Coucher for yet again being the only railwayman willing to plant his tanks on DfT Rail's lawn.

Bum steer from Greengauge?

Telegrammed by our man at 222 Marylebone Road
According to a Press Release...

Anticipating progressive improvement in energy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions from the rail, aviation and automotive sectors, the work, which was carried out by ATOC shows that high-speed rail could offer a huge saving in carbon compared with air travel and result in 70% less carbon per passenger-km than would be produced from a totally modernised electric car fleet. Against a mixed car fleet, in transition away from petrol/diesel engines, the advantages would be even more dramatic: HSR would produce 30 times less carbon per passenger-km.

"The basic point is this:”, said Greengauge 21 Director Jim Steer, “to achieve lower carbon in the transport sector, we need to provide a better alternative to flying or driving medium/long distances in Britain. High-speed rail offers the transformation needed to make this possible”.

Are we seriously expected to believe that by the time HS2 is built electric cars will have the range and speed to compete with rail, let alone high Speed Rail on inter-city journeys?

Repentant sinner?

The Sunday Times has further details on the company DafT has set up to progress HS2.

The business section names top civil servants Bob Linnard and Timothy Wellburn as directors.

But what's this?

No mention of who the Chairman is!

With DafT having read Eye's take on that particular appointment it's perhaps no surprise that they may now wish to play it down!

Herod opens kindergarten

Dear God!

This from Transit...

The DfT’s former permanent secretary Sir David Rowlands is to chair a new company to take forward plans for a high-speed rail line from London to Scotland.

For pity's sake is there no one else available?

UPDATE: Captain Deltic asks...

'Where is Sir David Serpell when we need him?'

Meanwhile, on the real railway...

Telegrammed by our Independent Expert
Transport Secretary Geoff "Doom" today announced grandiose plans for a new "HS2" from Heathrow to Birmingham in his Commons statement giving the OK to Heathrow's third runway – and global warming meltdown.

Back in the real world of travelling to the West Midlands, Beardie's lieutenants are counting their blessings, as trains to and from Euston this week have been merely "late" rather than running as "buses" or not running at all.

But as a precaution, Virgin's canny PR people are givng away Chiltern Railways' Birmingham timetables in prominent displays alongside the Euston booking office.

Always hedge your bets, as Bernie Madoff used to say!