Today an economic report has been published that reaffirms what we have known all along. High-speed rail will deliver jobs and growth. The report, commissioned by Britain's leading cities, is supported by politicians and business leaders alike and states that 1,000,000 jobs rely on the support of the Governments investment in high-speed rail.
It's true: if the economy is to get working again it depends on better connectivity and a modern infrastructure. According to Volterra, the report's authors, high-speed rail will encourage GDP growth in the Core Cities by up to 3 per cent and see a local wage increase of between 1.06% and 2.7%. In total, 400,000 jobs could be created in Britain's core cities, with a knock on effect of many more in the areas they serve. The core cities are the economic engines outside London which keep this country's economy running. Such figures cannot be underestimated.
This report should also dispel the many economic myths the opponents of high-speed rail have recently churned out. Just last week opponents stated that HS2 will cost every income tax-payer £1,000 to construct. But recent research cited by Volterra shows high-speed rail will generate (per income tax payer) £800 of benefit for the economy per annum and £330 in revenue for the Exchequer per annum. This is quite a difference, and reiterates why we must look at all the facts and widen the debate.
Nothing is clear cut in the debate surrounding high-speed rail, but from its successes elsewhere we can be confident that it pays a great dividend to the society it serves. International examples prove that high-speed rail pays for itself. Our European neighbours in France have invested in their infrastructure early and are now reaping the rewards later. This is because wherever high-speed rail has been built between the major cities and economic centres of a country - as in HS2 - it has exceeded demand forecasts.
With more people on the train there will be fewer cars on our roads and fewer people queuing at our airports. As the report states high-speed rail will relieve capacity constraints on existing lines and transfer some 6 million trips from air and 9 million road trips. We will finally have a transport system that delivers what we all need - choice.
In the end it all comes down to the economy though. Efficiency, connectivity and productivity are all economic buzzwords that people have said high-speed rail will deliver. But at the heart of it what high-speed rail will deliver is growth and jobs. It will bring people closer to employers, businesses will be closer to each other, and major cities will be able to connect with each other to foster innovation in a whole new way.
It's an investment that will change our fortunes and provide the economic foundations for the future growth of this country. We risk being left behind if this does not get built.
Paul Maynard: Expecting the Government to Abandon HS2 is Unrealistic
When i can drive for £72 return with 4 people if i wish?
The train compaines grab £2 BILLION a year in subsides from me ( and ALL taxpayers), then charge us the highest ticket prices in Europe, least clean and least perfoming and all commuters the daily task of standing in noisy, cramped and dangerously overcrowded trains every day.
works in Derby, employing 3,000 people, is the last significant railway workshop on British soil and is about to be closed by our own government after them giving the lucrative contract to Germany. Seems a little silly to ask I know, but where are all the skilled workers and manufacturing companies going to come from?
Reports by government are required to come up with the answers politicians want. Ibnddependt reports have not been positive see http://www.andrealeadsom.com/home/iea-launches-new-report-on-hs2/292 and http://www.countryside-alliance.org.uk/ca/communities/damaging-report-on-hs2-shows-opponents-cant-be-dismissed-as-nimbys and http://www.uxbridgegazette.co.uk/west-london-news/high-speed-rail/2011/06/22/parliamentary-report-picks-holes-in-hs2-business-case-113046-28926060/ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/uncertainty-on-new-rail-benefits-2300468.html
Or, how to undemocratically railroad the population into something they didn't mandate.
"The UK needs another 1,000,000 Jobs"
Easily achieved. Simply by removing one or two specific individuals from their jobs.
"an economic report has been published that reaffirms what we have known all along"
That agenda in, equals agenda out.
"It's true"
illusion?
"if the economy is to get working again it depends on"
building a better black hole to pour funds into. Rather than investing in renewable energy schemes, that have perpetual payback potential.
"Such figures cannot be underestimated"
Only overestimated.
"economic myths"
Best beloved. Hear the tale of a government venture that came in under budget.
"This is quite a difference"
Like that between weather forecasts, and what we actually get.
"Nothing is clear cut"
except the speciousness of speculative claims.
"International examples prove"
if anything, that foreign leaders are better.
"We will finally have a transport system that"
goes from A to Z, effectively bypassing all points in-between.
"whole new way"
GOTP,BTP,FTP. In a democracy, rather than a republic.
"It's an investment that"
appears to be all things, to all those who don’t ask awkward questions.
However, the main question is the big if. Only if it'll get built will we be able to see all this. Considering that the Tories' main focus has been, and is likely to remain, the debt, I'm not holding my breath.
Even at today's cost car travel is cheaper than rail. And I prefer the train to the car.
One more I think ought to be seriously considered, because there is a pressing need for it, is the building of a National Grid for water distribution so that drought is no longer going to be any problem in these Islands. We get more than enough rainfall on average. We are just so incredibly wasteful with it.
That is where I partly agree with the environmentalists by the way. But their solutions seem to be a tad defeatist and utopian at times. What we need is not less development, but better more intelligent development. Unfortunately such matters are not best left in the hands of Private Enterprise. All the advocates of this approach are concerned with is profit and maintaining shareholder dividends in the short term. And we have seen what such a philosophy has meant for our energy supply industry. Again a lot of fragmentation and waste.
The high speed rail project should be fully tax-payer funded and built asap.
More energy hits the Earth from our local star than we could possibly ever use. I suggest we start seriously trying to harness it. Fossil fuels are running out and cars, trains and possibly planes powered by electrical energy are the future.
Humanity and civilisations at various stages have faced energy crises before and finally overcome them. I have faith we can do it again. We mustn't allow ourselves to become discouraged. That way lies death and decay and no future.
1. Cut-and-cover tunnels. new rail systems should not consume land, nor be open to vandalism. Safely enclosed in cut-and-cover tunnels is best.
2. Tunnel-travelling trains do not need windows. This allows strengthening of carriages and increasing of sizes.
3. Present rail gauge is too narrow. Should be much wider so that trains can be wide-bodied.
4. Trains should be double-deck to increase capacity.
Please consider designing to similar specifications as above, instead of 19th Century specifications currently on the table.
Thanks.
A 3 hour train trip without windows is one of the most boring things. I agree with tunnels inside the cities and until the train leaves big cities (where most vandalism occurs), but a tunnel from end to end would be expensive enough to stop thinking about it. Wider bodies would be a problem in trains, as a plane doesn't need infrastructure to fly but a train needs infrastructure and wider body would be much more complex to design as the airflow should be studied and rails should be redesigned, there is also the weight. I agree with the double floor, but again the airflow and stabilization would be a problem as it's not the same to go at 150-160Km/h than at 300-350 Km/h