The arguments seem to be based on
1. job creation
2. reduce the north south divide
3. increase prosperity in the north
4. reduce the load on existing routes

I argue that it's a 19th Century technology and that we should be investing in better communications infrastructure (fibre optics, virtual reality etc) rather than spending £50bn+ shaving a few tens of minutes off journeys to three or four destinations.

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I agree, waste of money and no foresight at all.
Take a step further and go Maglev or some better technology.

By the time it gets built, if ever finished it will be outdated.anyway.

Waste of time, effort and money

Perhaps we should see about getting our homeless people off the streets and reducing the need fof food banks before vanity projects

Doesn't 1 and 3 help with that? I have no idea about the pro's and con's of it, but I understand they are using Chinese Steel for it because it's cheap. Given the current problems with the domestic steel industry, that does seem to contradict 1 and 3.

We all know it will be 3 times over budget and delayed though. 
Hung like Einstein, smart as a horse.

There is nothing wrong with HS trains as a mode of travel, however the infrastructure should be such that the vehicle travelling on the infrastructure can be upgraded as technology improves and higher speeds obtained. The present track width is too narrow for VHS trains, Had Brunel's original track been set as the standard we could already be travelling on trains with a journey time of 2-2.5 hrs Glasgow or Edinburgh to London.
There is no reason why trains shouldn't travel at current aircraft speed in the future, aircraft are now much slower than 30 years ago, time for some progress, by the time you have arrived at an airport in time to check in and pass through security you would be already half way there  my PC is slightly to the right of Genghis
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Last edited by Dartman the one on 5th Dec 2016 5:31 am. Edited 1 time in total

There is still some scope to upgrade speeds on 4'81/2" the French have managed over 350mph on same gauge,seems if you want to move anywhere in the future the railways are the only way,open up more old routes and reduce fares.

HS2 completion date is scheduled for 2033. Be interesting to see the status of Hyperloop by then, maybe they'll have to rename it to LS2 
Hung like Einstein, smart as a horse.

I like the idea of it but it's not exactly north is it ? Do it now ! Your a long time dead !!

Im told by people that use it, that the french high speed train system is very successful.

But it is different in many respects from what is proposed for the UK.

1) Distances are much greater and so its speed advantage has a more significant effect in reducing journey times.
2) Many of its stations are built well outside cities and towns and have huge parking areas, which makes them easy to get to.

My understanding is that my nearest HS2 station would be in the centre of Birmingham which despite being only 20 miles away would take an hour to drive to and park during rush hours. As it happens I can currently drive to a local satation in 15 mins, park for a lot less £s and catch a train that is only 20 mins slower than the HS2 would be. So for me it offers no time saving but will use billions of tax payers money.

Of course I could be wrong as there seems to be little detail available concerning the HS2 proposals other than routes. Jules

Lets be serious for a minute.
Public transport is slow, dirty, unreliable, overpriced, inflexible, and you get to sit next to the village loon for an hour+ with no way to escape.

Where I work there is a train station within 10 minutes walk, who are the ones who are regularly late - train passengers, who are the ones who constantly complain about the rail fare increases. Who are the ones who can't work late - because they will miss "their" train, I'm sure there should be another one in an hour or two.

Don't get me started on buses, the last three I have tried to catch have been cancelled "due to staff shortages" - does this mean even bus drivers hate the damn things so much they won't travel on them anyway?

Aircraft are great if you like spending two hours in an overpriced shopping center waiting to board, and if you are 4'10" and 7st wet through to fit the seats, then waiting at the far end for your laptop/tools to arrive, then get ripped off for a taxi/train to your final destination.

Build more roads and fix the potholed ones we have got Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
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Andy131 wrote:

... who are the ones who constantly complain about the rail fare increases?

3disco wrote:

There is still some scope to upgrade speeds on 4'81/2" the French have managed over 350mph on same gauge,seems if you want to move anywhere in the future the railways are the only way,open up more old routes and reduce fares.

HappyNomad wrote:

Andy131 wrote:

... who are the ones who constantly complain about the rail fare increases?

what's not to like.

I now work for division for Network Rail, and IMO no HS2 is not good value for money and journey time reduction is a joke.

Yes the current infrastructure should be upgraded, which is being done, but possibly not in the most beneficial manner.

And as most of the work being done on the tracks (that I have dealings with) is by contractors who are blatently ripping the company/government to the tune of £££££££££££££££££ because they see it as cash cow, then money will continue to be diverted in the wrong direction.