HS2 and the infrastructure problem

[qwerty south]

Before we develop a high speed rail network (further) don't we need to electrify the whole network and make all major lines e.g. the Salisbury - Exeter stretch double tracked?

As of March 2020, 3,758 miles (6,048 km) (38%) of the British rail network was electrified.

 

[version]

Supposedly he wants to direct funds to the roads instead, but remains to be seen whether that will actually happen.

Rishi Sunak has been accused of making up fake roads in a bid to distract from his HS2 shambles [...] Mr Sunak claimed that changes to HS2 would save £36billion with the cash going to alternative road and rail schemes across the country. But Ms Haigh warned that many of the projects “have already been built, have already been announced [or] do not exist”.

Listing some of the examples, she said: “An extension of Manchester’s tram link to the airport – a project which opened nine years ago. A ‘brand new rail station for Bradford’ – a project which has been scrapped and reinstated by three Tory Prime Ministers in a row. And an upgrade to the A259 to Southampton – a route that does not exist.”

 

[Mr. Tea]

Rishi Sunak has been accused of making up fake roads in a bid to distract from his HS2 shambles [...] Mr Sunak claimed that changes to HS2 would save £36billion with the cash going to alternative road and rail schemes across the country. But Ms Haigh warned that many of the projects “have already been built, have already been announced [or] do not exist”.

Listing some of the examples, she said: “An extension of Manchester’s tram link to the airport – a project which opened nine years ago. A ‘brand new rail station for Bradford’ – a project which has been scrapped and reinstated by three Tory Prime Ministers in a row. And an upgrade to the A259 to Southampton – a route that does not exist.”

This county continues to go downhill. At least Boris Johnson gave us made-up hospitals.

 

[version]

A “fire sale” of land bought for HS2 north of Birmingham is set to cost the taxpayer more than £100 million, analysis has revealed.

The government is poised to sell off land within weeks to prevent future administrations from reversing the decision to cancel swathes of the scheme.

HS2 Ltd, the government-owned company set up to build the project, had bought 2,900 acres of land between Birmingham and Crewe at a cost of £205 million.

Most is agricultural and was bought at a premium under compulsory purchase. It will be sold at market rate or even discounted.

 

[WashYourHands]

Like a huge scar, gave archaeologists something to do but compulsory purchases wrecking livelihoods subsequently maiming a range of settings is possibly the most British trait of all

 

[version]

It's not hard to believe, but I also wonder whether an element of this is The Times trying to help out Sunak;

HS2: The secret files that expose a multibillion-pound cover-up