Time to map out a plan for Villa's future
- Says blogger Matthew Turvey
High speed rail – it’s the price that matters, not speed
Tuesday 21st February 2012, 10:04AM GMT.
I went to London yesterday for a meeting, writes Charlie Cashdan.
I had two options train-wise; one which would get me there in 90 minutes but cost £79, or another train which would take 150 minutes but cost £9.50. It was a no-brainer really. I took the cheaper option.
The current service to London from Birmingham is excellent anyway. There is a train every 15 minutes and 90 minutes or so is perfectly fast enough for most people.
Let’s face it – why do people travel from Birmingham to London? To visit friends/relatives, shopping, business meetings – none of these things require speed to be of the essence.
Speed only really matters if you are commuting to London regularly for work. Then yes, high speed rail would make a difference if it opened up the possibility of someone living in Birmingham and commuting every day to work in the capital.
This would allow Midland people to go for the higher paid opportunities London offers without the higher living costs. But this could only work if high speed travel was really cheap. And it won’t be. Therefore, it’s pointless.
Cost matters to people far more than speed. Can’t the money sidelined for this extravagant project be invested into our existing service and bring down current prices? This, more than anything, would encourage people to travel to London.
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speaking as someone who travels atleast once a week to london for business.
Speed does matter.
My challenge, i need to get to the 8.30 meeting about 30 mins from Euston in the city of london.
Lets work back.
8.30 means arrive at euston for 8.
that would mean getting a 6.30 train (ish)
40 mins commute to bham international means a 5.50 leave time if all goes well – so probably means leave 5.30 for a bit of slack.
which means out of bed at 5 latest having showered the night before.
– which means its ok occasionally but not practical enough.
so – sure price is important but speed is more important to regular business travellers who lets be honest are what matters for this decision.
The problem i have with HS2 is that it doesnt address the links into bham international which is great if you live in Solihull, but not so good if you live in the further west parts of our county.
It should also link to heathrow, but that is planned further down the line, i will probably have retired by then.
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Mr Hair Gel
Not sure if your argument is for HS2 or against it. All you seem to be saying is that you would be able to get out of bed half an hour later and take a shower before leaving the house rather than the night before (truly preferable for all concerned on the train and in your meeting). 32 billion quid is a high price for your comfort and hygiene !
Please clarify which side of the fence you are sitting.
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Removing the splinters….. I am in favour generally, but to be truley effective it needs a better local network.
My get up time and shower challenge is just an example represents the challenge of, I would assume, most regular commuters to London. Add to that the journey back, delays etc and time away, and it adds up to a tough gig to do a well paid job based in London.
I guess what I am saying, is that I live in the midlands and have a good salary vs. local standards because of this commute and work ethic, but not many would put up with the inconvenience over the medium or long term. It is really tiring, i dont want sympathy, i am trying to show the real practical challenges that make doing business in the midlands a general issue.
If that inconvenience is minimised you bet you it would have a dramatic effect on improving the local economy by encouraging more wealth to move into the midlands – both individuals and businesses. Indeed, I would predict more companies would relocate due to simpler travel and lower real estate costs. Not one FTSE 100 company is based in the midlands, so if you think what i am talking is fanciful and I put to you that is in large part due to the difficult in attracting quality talent due to commute times from London. It is often on these personal levels decisions like this are taken.
So, I am iIn favour, but more work needed.
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Well it looks like you are in the minority on this one, £30 Billion quid of our taxpayers money, probably about a £1000 for each person in the country that pays tax will go towards saving you from getting up early.
Also we all know for a fact that
a) It won’t work properly
b) It won’t be done on time
c) It will cost more than anyone has estimated so far
d) It will be a white elephant but the Government will plough ahead regardless, and I’m not even being pessimistic for the sake of it, just going on previous government projects
Time will tell.
On the above, surely you would be better off staying in a cheap hotel the night before?
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i stay in hotels regularly, company paid.
but i want to maximise the time with the family.
The midlands is crying out for investment, i get confused by the lack of enthusiasm for something that can really help the area. I am sure it wont be perfect, but an investment like this can really make a difference. If it makes a difference to me, as a regular guy who grew up in Wolvo, surely it can make a big difference to alot of people and raise living standards and opportunity.
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Of course speed matters. No car producer advertises cars on how slow they go
car drivers choose motorways not because they slower. airlines do not sell slower routes.
The facts are first choice fastest train second is can I afford it
third is go by second fastest train etc etc.
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BSD, I agree with the original concept of improving our existing tracks to make travel from Wolverhampton to London much quicker and cheaper.
Currently Virgin trains take approx 1.45 hrs to get to London Euston from WOLVERHAMPTON.
If you take out all the stops apart from Bham New street – Coventry – Milton Keynes then the journey times could be improved further by at least 20 minutes.
Also, why wait 10 minutes at Bham New street? Potentially saving over 30 minutes! Wton – Ldon in 1.15 minute is already here!
Also, did you know that one can travel from Stafford to London in 1.10 minutes so why the need for HSR?
Unless, you are able to travel to London from Bham in less than 30 minutes and directly to PARIS/EUROPE (without changing trains/stations)then HSR is just a waste of money. I may be wrong but HSR will go onto Euston and one will have to get to Kingcross to catch a train to Europe – What a useless design and system.
If this is the case then lets just spend all those billions in putting right what we have now and expanding the system so it will serve the tax payer not the rich slayer.
Okay, we do not have the best system in the world but with the right innovations and investments we could easily make our RAIL system the best in the world. It will take political power, human support, and a lot of cash – so if we do things now and in 10 years time we will see major improvements.
Otherwise, GOD help us! +
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