HS2 meets EWR, Calvert, May 2023

Aerial footage where East-West Rail (EWR) meets High Speed 2 (HS2) at Calvert in Buckinghamshire, taken in May 2023
EWR is a new (though mostly existed up until the 1960s) route between Oxford and Cambridge via Milton Keynes and Bedford, which have no other viable rail services between them. The section between Bedford and Cambridge still looks to be in jeopardy, along with the promised link to Aylesbury (and onwards to London).
HS2 is the controversial project, that's been hugely scaled back due to massive cost overruns and all independent reports repeating it does not offer value for money, or has any green credentials, and links cities (London, Birmingham and maybe Manchester later) that already have good, underutilised rail links between them already.

[@trevorelliston1]

The object of hs2 is not to provide fast services to Birmingham and the north but to free up capacity on the existing lines to the north by removing long slot occupying fast services from them. The problem as I see it is a lack of vision what HS 2 could do, if it was a) properly linked to HS1 to provide cross channel links. b) run as far north as is reasonable as fast as practicable, in particular up to Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds/Bradford, fitting in Nottingham, Sheffield, Doncaster, and possibly up to York, even Newcastle in the east. Then ban internal flights to London from anywhere south of Glasgow/Edinburgh.

[@KingFinnch]

it can be properly linked to HS1 at a future date as they currently terminate at two stations

[@trevorelliston1]

@@KingFinnch with the lines into the stations being nearly parallel for the final approach there is no easy way to connect at or through the stations. The link has to go from where HS2 makes a sharpish turn from a sort of west-east direction as it comes from Old Oak Common to the rather more north-south direction for the final approach to Euston, to go a to point where the HS1 makes a turn in the opposite direction to head east to Stratford and the tunnel. Such a link was planned but cancelled, and Bearing in mind the tunnel approach of HS2 to Euston, where again the plans are being mucked (sic) about with a capital F, it will be quite tricky to later bridge that gap without extreme disruption. The facility to link the two really must go in as a part of the original build.

[@theboy-uk]

It was never going to free up any significant additional capacity. Even the entity now known as HS2 Ltd freely admitted that at the roadshows when presented with the facts, despite their promotional material claiming that to be one of the top 5 reasons for it. Top of their list was faster travel between London and Birmingham, and then went to some lengths to justify this by saying time on an HS2 train could be productive, yet somehow time spent commuting on a competing line train couldn't be, for reasons they were unable to explain, but wouldn't concede why, as this "productive time" was baked so heavily into the business case presented to government. The trouble with the vision of HS2 linking the major cities is that outside of those cities, usable public transport is non existent. Which means, to use said services, as so few people live in the actual centres of large cities, people have to jump in their cars and drive into a busy city centre, sucking up parking/congestion/emission charges along the way. Do that, may as well just drive to the destination city, lets face it, England is so small, its hardly a chore. Its very similar to concept in air travel from the late 90's of major hubs connected with more regional services. A concept now abandoned because its not what customers of the service want, and hence the end of production of large wide bodied aircraft such as the 747 and A380 - the aviation industry, not having access to the magic money tree of the taxpayer subsidy, were quicker to react to unworkable, unwanted services.

[@thorley1969]

@@theboy-uk Quite exaggerated your view of city centres. That's where most people are and I don't agree with you that people have to jump into their cars. Most large cities have very good transport links. At present the WCML is maxed out. Too many trains serving different destinations all sharing the same paths. Oh, don't get me wrong, I think the way HS2 has been managed is piss poor but in the long run it is very much needed. We can't keep living in the past.

[@theboy-uk]

@@thorley1969 But if I lived in the Birmingham suburbs, which are mostly to the south of the City Centre, or the nearby villages, I am not going to spend 45 mins walking to and then catching the bus into Birmingham, to catch a train into London, I am far more likely to drive to, say, Solihull or Dorridge and jump on the Chiltern Slug, as that will be faster and cheaper, even taking into account the highly elevated Chiltern parking charges. As a regular passenger on the WCML south of Birmingham, there is plenty of passenger capacity outside of morning peak, London bound. Plenty. In addition, anyone travelling from central Birmingham to central London has the option of the virtually unused CML, which even peak morning, London bound is near empty until around Banbury or Bicester North... ...because as I have said, there is virtually no demand to travel from Birmingham all the way to London.

[@johnwebster3224]

Another ten years and you'll wonder what all the fuss was about!

[@theboy-uk]

You're making an assumption that Phase 1 will be finished in another 10 years. That said, once opened, I give it less than 10 years after completion before its either closed and abandoned, or radically changed to be just yet another local commuter line into London.

[@davecooper3238]

@@theboy-uk That has not happened with HS1. Why should it happen with HS2 ?

[@theboy-uk]

@@davecooper3238 Domestic services on HS1 have never met predictions. International services, ie, Eurostar, have been more successful, so the line stays open. HS2 won't ever have the benefit of International connections.

[@davecooper3238]

@@theboy-uk It will have the benefit of connecting the UKs two largest cities. Plus Birmingham International Airport & Rail Station. It will also service the NEC. There are many road improvements associated with building the line.

[@theboy-uk]

@@davecooper3238 But as the 2 competing lines prove, next to nobody wants to travel between the centres of these 2 cities, the vast majority use services from the stations in between. Hence I firmly believe the public money spent, not just on construction but ongoing subsidies, would have been far better spent on other projects to help transport links in less better served area.

[@willhemmings]

Nice capture of a key location at a point in time. Interesting feature of the crossing point between EWR and HS2 is that the EWR appears to be carried over the HS2, which is a reversal of the original Oxford to Cambridge Railway alignment in which the later Great Central, which the HS2 alignment tracks through Calvert, was bridged over the top. The reversal of the alignments seems odd, because the artificial reduction in HS2 levels could create some difficult drainage issues. Perhaps an explanation is that the artificially raised embankment carrying the EWR is a deliberate attempt to provide a noise bund to shield the sound of the more disruptive high speed trains from the nearby village of Steeple Claydon!

[@theboy-uk]

I had assumed, maybe incorrectly, that it was to keep HS2 more level, and EWR had to work around HS2's height. To reduce noise, HS2 is supposed to be tree lined when not in cuttings, but the villagers of Steeple will still hear it all the time.

[@willhemmings]

@@theboy-uk Thanks for clearing that up; and yes, if this thing is completed, the poor villagers of Steeple Claydon will hear the trains, and the screeching, grinding and clattering of all the stock in the maintenance depot

[@theboy-uk]

@@willhemmings As will the villagers of Calvert, Twyford and all the other villages and towns within a couple of km of the route. But, yes, this area will be impacted by the huge depot as well.

[@JohnHoward-wc9kk]

@@willhemmings Do you think a modern rail depot is like something out of Thomas the Tank Engine !. All that coal and steam !

[@willhemmings]

@@JohnHoward-wc9kk Substitute floodlighting, ear splitting sirens, the continuous bleeping of reversing vehicles and the sound of crow scarers to keep all the seagulls from the Greatmoor waste incinerator away from the trains!

[@ladyintheskyuk]

Great footage. Nice flying 👌

[@theboy-uk]

Thanks :)

[@andrewjameson5918]

Thanks for the update, some notable changes since the last video which is good. But it still seams very slow.

[@theboy-uk]

The last one was October, so 8 months ago, so I agree it seems very slow. Looks like EWR is being held up by the works around HS2. Further away from HS2, EWR already have some of the track down, but that's another video that I need to finish editing, LOL.

[@frasermitchell9183]

Sorry I was so gloomy last night, but HS2 was and is a good idea, we're 30 years at least behind the rest of Europe with high speed rail, even Morocco now has one !! Obviously no expensive land to buy up there. HS2 was unfortunately gold-plated, and to appease the Green Blob, there is a requirement for all of its effects to be mitigated 100% with a target of 110%. Needless to say the 110% is now followed. Total folly ! There was no need at all for the tunnel from Old Oak Common to Ruislip, there is sufficient spare formation and land to build on the surface. The line speed of 250 mph has meant large costs because ballasted track cannot be used, it all has to be concrete slab track.

[@theboy-uk]

I'm not that convinced we now need High Speed rail now. I was all for HS2 when first proposed, but as soon as I went to the early roadshows about it, everyone could see what a farce it was. Now we are in a world where many people who would be commuting more than an hour in each day are only doing so a couple of days a week, and that is really the new normal. Those who absolutely have to be in, such as retail, hospitality, cleaning etc aren't going to be earning enough in a day to cover the fare. From a green perspective, by the time Phase 1 is ready, it won't be possible to by petrol/diesel cars, and are electric cars any less green than an electric train (we'll leave the debates about is electric green for a separate debate, as that's a complex debate!). Add that to a service that, realistically, can't be used by anyone - If I lived in the Birmingham commuter belt like Solihull, I wouldn't drive to the station, get on a train into central Birmingham, walk across the city centre in the wind and rain, catch a train into central London, then a tube. I would either a) drive (easier, quicker, cheaper), or b) use one of the competing services from nearer home to go straight into London. Railtrack, at the roadshows, basically said that Europe has high speed rail, and we feel we must have it, just for the sake of having it, despite the fact it saves less than 15 minutes on what it is/was competing with.

[@soj_89]

​@@theboy-uk electric cars are still really bad. They still produce masses of emissions from the battery manufacturing. And also, it's not just about the C02, it's about the land use and lifestyle cars promote. The main issues with cars which can be mitigated by decent transit is the massive waste of taxpayer money wasted on the infrastructure. If you don't understand this then @NotJustBikes explains it really well. Car infrastructure in cities works solely on subsidies. This is because there is so much infrastructure per person required. The only thing electric cars would solve is air quality in Central cities because it's just displacing the pollution to poorer countries with lithium mines.

[@theboy-uk]

@@soj_89 Oh, I'm well aware of the issues of electric cars supposed green credentials, and there are perfectly valid arguments out there that many ICE powered cars will be greener over a 20 year life. But public transport suffers exactly the same issues. As for taxpayer burdens, that's no so straightforward, as overall, motorists more than cover the cost of roads due to taxes in the forms of VED, fuel duty for ICE powered cars and luxury car tax. Obviously, full electric cars are currently likely to get hit by the last, but that will change as a very lucrative revenue stream for the government slowly dries up over the next few years as we blindly go all electric. So roads are a burden to the taxpayer, but one that is more than covered by the users of them, but as virtually all road users are taxpayers, one way or another.... You are not going to have a train to every suburb of every town or village, so public transport would still need all that road infrastructure, but who would pay for it? Raise bus fares even higher? That's assuming you have a bus service, because although buses and trams might work reasonably well in major cities, once you leave those cities, as anyone living in smaller towns and villages will confirm, public transport is non existent, and the few (unusable, normally once a day, or once a week) services that are run are very heavily taxpayer subsidised.

[@soj_89]

@@theboy-uk The issue with cars compared to public transport is that all the parking takes up way too much space so suburbs take up way more space and are less dense. If we didn't need parking for cars then suburbs would be more dense and walkable or cyclable, and public transport would be more profitable because more people would love closer to each stop and it would be a shorter distance to the city center where people work. This would mean less taxpayer money wasted on infrastructure because everyone would live closer together. This would mean that healthcare and standard of living could be raised for everyone not just the mega rich. Also, it's not just roads, it's sewers and utilities as well.

[@theboy-uk]

@@soj_89 Problem being that outside of large cities, some form of alternative transport will always be needed. That will always be the case and will never change. For instance, I had reason to go to my "local" hospital, and via pure public transport, it would have been 2 trains and 3 buses, and about 5hrs, which isn't viable.

[@leswall3061]

Great filming but it would have help me if pointing out what was HS2 and what was EWR, not moaning, I don't know the area

[@theboy-uk]

They cross each other at 90 degrees, so the HS2 is where it says HS2 London or HS Birmingham at the top, and East West Rail is where is says EWR at top. Apologies, I shall try to make clearer next time :)

[@leswall3061]

@@theboy-uk You're doing a grand job of showing the work going on, no need for an apologise, cheer's

[@theboy-uk]

@@leswall3061 Thanks :)

[@AndrewRoberts11]

There are rumours they've completed the overpass, and laid the first EWR track over the works.

[@theboy-uk]

I shall have to take a look when I get back to the area 👍

[@AndrewRoberts11]

@@theboy-uk You may need a model boat, to get close for six months. Looking online, Gawcott Road has been closed, in part for a month (site and sailing club access only), to enable the old bridge to be demolished and embankment completed. Re-opens Sunday 29th, for a day, before being closed for 6 months (excluding site and sailing club access), from Monday 30 Oct 2023 to March 2024, to permit HS2 to construct a new road.

[@theboy-uk]

@@AndrewRoberts11 Only HS2 could cause that level of disruption to communities. Then act all surprised when so many people hate the unneeded project. I know a lot of the route of EWR was still there, but much of it needed rebuilding or rework, yet caused far less disruption. I'll go for a walk around the area, see if I can find a series of places to fly from.

[@fidoforme8561]

HS2 delays: hundreds of Londoners are stuck in homes they can’t sell amid stalled construction

[@theboy-uk]

HS2 isn't really a way to allow London based workers to be able to live further out, yet still work in London. I can't imagine there are many people living in London that desire to live in central Birmingham, as they won't be escaping the noise, bustle, high prices etc.

[@colinsmith2560]

HS2 is really great do they make chocolate tea pots as well ????

[@theboy-uk]

They make so useful as a choccie teapot... 🤣

[@ianhosier4042]

All this money wasted on hs2 and also destroying any chance of linking aylesbury with EWR.

[@theboy-uk]

Far too much common sense in linking Aylesbury with EWR. Can you imagine, having usable public transport linking Aylesbury and the nearby Chiilterns with Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge. Yes, we couldn't possibly allow that, as that would be far too useful, and people might actually want to use that....

[@williamparker3765]

what a waste of green belt country and money, it should be stopped now

[@theboy-uk]

Now you know talking such common sense will get you nowhere, LOL.

[@thomasjones3946]

😢😢complete waste of time and money and definitely won't be ready on time 😒

[@andrewreynolds4949]

EWR to Bletchley is on schedule

[@thomasjones3946]

That might be but the rest of won't be

[@theboy-uk]

Well, original estimates were it would be open this year. But no need to rush, when you can milk the magic money tree, aka the Taxpayer.

[@theboy-uk]

@@andrewreynolds4949 Actually, sadly, EWR is slipping, due to having to wait on HS2 to pull their finger out at Calvert, as can be seen in this video.

[@frasermitchell9183]

Anybody who thinks cancellation of HS2 will cause the saved money to migrate to other projects is living in cloud cuckoo land. If HS2 goes, it is goodbye to ANY significant rail projects this century or any other projects for that matter. The Treasury want to cut rail down to size and I can see massive closures following to the existing rail network. Cuts have already been made in roads, such that our roads are now a total disgrace for what the politicians call an advanced economy. Industry is rapidly closing or downsizing and emigrating to the USA. Guys, you are all doomed ! May I suggest you all go out and buy some quaint clothing, like agricultural smocks. Put some hobnail boots on and a straw hat and wonder around going "Ohh Ar, OOh Ar" for tourists to film and photo. That's what will become of us as a nation. PS: very good video, many thanks. Here are the Country South plan and profile maps. The map "Calvert" shows the final layout www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs2-plan-and-profile-maps-post-house-of-commons-select-committee-2016-country-south

[@theboy-uk]

The build cost, indeed, is lost forever. The running costs to the taxpayer, by means of subsidies, was around £600 per taxpayer per year for Phase 1, based on 2010 figures (so probably nearer £1k pa now), *IF* HS2 meet its viability goal of 576,000 passengers a day for Phase 1. Absolutely no way in this world will HS2 carry even 10% of those viability figures, so the subsidies will skyrocket, or the service shut down. As a country, we need to decide which. You may chuckle about the quaint old world of yesteryear, but I'm not convinced this Victorian technology is the answer.

[@theboy-uk]

As for the video, thanks, I have a couple more coming soon from the same area, covering EWR from Calvert to Winslow and HS2 from Calvert to Aylesbury Parkway, which you may be interested in 👍, Just in the process of editing them over the next week or 2.

[@stevetony6876]

@@theboy-uk Where does your figure of 576,000 come from.. that seems high? great video btw! Any chance of EWR update from Bicester end:)

[@theboy-uk]

@@stevetony6876 That figure comes from HS2's brochures given out at the early roadshows, which even they agreed verbally during the roadshows were unachievable in reality. The real figure is estimated to be less than 2% of that. The Bicester end is on the agenda to do for when the weather improves and the wind drops!

[@stevetony6876]

@@theboy-uk 2% sounds alright, be good to see the money to start rolling in! i understand HS1 figures were quite low initially too but look at how successful this high speed line is now, benefitting many. Can't wait to see HS2 trains in this area on video 2029-33!!!

[@joginns778]

Why this job taking so long, easy there using the wrong equipment, instead of using three sixty diggers and moxy dump trucks it's quicker using cat scrappers and a lot cheaper as you won't head so many,

[@theboy-uk]

No need to rush the job, or worry about costs, when you're milking the magic money tree (the taxpayer).

[@philbeckett8620]

Why is there so much trashing of the land either side, looks soo destructive for what is after all a narrow strip. No wonder people object if they cannot be more subtle.

[@theboy-uk]

Its crazy the amount of land needed for construction of HS2. They have promised the land will be made into nature reserves, but I suspect such a clean up is a long way down the list of priorities as the Government reduces the flow of precious taxpayer money being lost on this project.

[@pfrylambretta]

This project will out cost itself.The route gets smaller because of cost.Its not going to its original destination, thats got to be a fail surely.

[@theboy-uk]

I remember from the original roadshows that not even HS2 themselves thought it would ever go further than Birmingham, and was just another Birmingham to London line.

[@JohnLavender]

This is great coverage from all angles of the intersection. When is your next update due please? Fascinating seeing the progress from here 'oop North'.. (Tyneside)

[@theboy-uk]

Thanks. It will likely be over the winter period to be honest, as no point doing it any more frequently than 6 - 9 months due to limited progress, especially on the HS2 side, which is holding up that section of EWR.

[@JohnLavender]

@@theboy-uk Thank you for your prompt reply. I will keep looking forward to it. Good Work. 👍

[@CliffordWynne]

This is a poor country, who can't afford extravagant waste of money to save thirty minutes

[@theboy-uk]

A very valid point....

[@joegrey9807]

Sorry, but you're wrong about the 'not going to free up additional capacity'. Currently 4-5 trains per hour run non-stop from Euston to the West Midlands or north of; with rejigging of stopping patterns and including a frequent semi-fast to Bham that'd free up about 6 paths an hour on the West Coast Main Line. If the line to Toton was built, that'd free up 2tph on the Midland Main Line; and extension to Leeds would free up 3tph on the East Coast Main Line. By taking off the InterCity services you're left with passenger and freight services that operate at similar speeds (regional passenger trains faster, but they stop more than freight), that dramatically improves route capacity and operational flexibility so you actually gain more paths than I've outlined above. The reason for building HS2 to operate so fast is that it can effectively take ECML services without an increase in journey times, despite it being a longer route. All three of these routes are effectively at capacity now. These paths could then be used for freight and for local and regional services calling at reopened stations. A spatial analysis shows that of the 30 most populous areas that are by the UK network that don't have have a station, 8 are on sections of the WCML, MML, or ECML that HS2 effectively by-passes. In most cases there were originally stations there, but they were removed to provide capacity for InterCity services. A further three of these potential station sites are on the Ivanhoe route that, if reopened, would need to use capacity at Leicester hat currently isn't there. Altogether these 11 stations would bring an additional half a million people to within 2 miles of a station. There are also new rail-served distribution centres being built alongside the WCML, which will take up more capacity from what's currently the busiest mixed use railway in Europe. Not only is the railway now carrying more passengers than at any time in peacetime history (with the possible exception of 1920-22, and a couple of years immediately prior to Covid, but we're almost back to those levels now), but is carrying more freight than any time since the 1960s; all on a network that is much smaller than it was pre-1970, and with both passenger and freight traffic much more concentrated on key main lines. Finally, the reason that the three routes currently suffer from poor reliability is that they're being used to the max, there's little padding in the timetable to recover from small delays, and trains of similar stopping patterns have to be flighted to make the best use of capacity - this means when trains are operated out of order, the impacts can be severe (ie a fast train catches up with a stopping train). Not only will the reduction of services improve reliability, but so will the reduced need to flight services. The problem is not that HS2 isn't needed, it's that there is no overall strategy for the rail network. HS2 should be being built in conjunction with some of the reopened stations on the existing lines, so that the benefits can be felt immediately on opening by people who are being by-passed by the route.

[@theboy-uk]

Not quite sure where you can find 5 times per hour between London and Birmingham, because as a very regular traveller between the 2 cities, I can't remember the last time I was able to get one. Many years ago, there used to be a handful throughout the day that took a little over an hour, but in order to make HS2 look viable, these were removed years ago, and now I end up stopping at places like MK or Cov or NEC if I get a fast train. Unfortunately, we know from the initial roadshows, HS2 was only ever going to be phase one, because to quote those people running it from what is now HS2, "not even the government is that daft to fund Phase 2". That and the complete mismanagement of the project from the start has already (rightly) canned the East leg, and the West leg is in severe jeopardy. So we end up with just yet another London centric route, where there is *massive* capacity outside London bound morning peak. Don't forget we also have the hugely under utilised CML, which runs 2 services an hour between London and Birmingham, usually with 3 or 4 carriage DMUs, so no shortage of capacity increases there.

[@joegrey9807]

@@theboy-uk I said '4-5 trains EUS to the W Mids or north of', that's not the same as EUS to BHM. The xx.02, xx.30 and xx.33 departures from Euston all run non-stop to STA or WBQ. The xx.13 and xx.40 run to NUN and COV respectively but most traffic is for further north, and there are three remaining AWC services that you'd keep in some form or consolidate with the fast LNW services. The CML doesn't have tons of spare capacity either south of Bicester or north of Banbury, but the real problem is once you get to the W Midlands area (with cross country, suburban and loads of freight). I forgot to mention, that HS2 will allow a more intensive local service on the 2 track core RUG COV BHM WVH STA route, as well as suburban services into Manchester and Leeds (when these branches are built). The BHM to LDS section is important and I think will be built, not only does it free up local capacity but it dramatically cuts the journey time so will take a lot of traffic from road, this is the one section where the speed advantage really kicks in. And getting some of the trains off the flat junctions on the existing route.

[@theboy-uk]

@@joegrey9807 Nothing north of Lichfield was in HS2's initial proposal, for reasons given earlier, yet all these benefits were promoted for Phase 1 (alone). And, lets face it, Phase 2 is unlikely to be built now, as every report says it does not provide value for money, even by HS2's wonky idea of adding value (such as being productive on a laptop whilst on trains, implying this isn't possible on existing trains). CML does have track capacity north of Banbury, granted, less than south of Banbury, as it does carry some freight, and also other passenger services - but stand at stations such as WRP, as I do more often than I'd like, which is north enough to even include West Mids Trains, and you'll stare at an empty track a lot of the time. Also, Chiltern Railways run short trains most of the time, which would allow for at least 100% increase in capacity without running more trains.

[@joegrey9807]

@@theboy-uk the original HS2 proposal was always for a Y shaped network, it was phased to spread out both the design and build phases. Even without going north of Lichfield, services going to Manchester, the NW and Scotland will still use it. Unfortunately the weird uncoordinated rail 'strategy' we have means that HS2 had not been allowed to fully consider the benefits gained by freeing up capacity, it's almost as if the government deliberately did this to allow them to say that the BCR was crap and they should cut phases out.... Even if CR capacity quadrupled (doubling length and frequency of services) that'd only provide an extra 15% capacity for long distance services heading north from London. Had traffic gone the way many predicted after COVID, then that might have sufficed, but both long distance traffic and commuting into regional centres are now at least as high as they were in the record breaking pre-COVID years. As I said, the real failure has been the lack of a coordinating strategy to fully utilise the freed up capacity, instead they just seem to be waiting and will then add them piecemeal. Again, the government doesn't want to make the case for HS2 too strong in case they want to pull it.

[@theboy-uk]

@@joegrey9807 Although mentioned at the roadshows, they said anything beyond Phase 1 wouldn't happen. Even they admitted the cost/benefit just didn't make sense. It seems more and more likely they were correct. We can live in hope that this or future governments scrap all of HS2, but I fear Phase 1 has progressed too far, and even with all the reports from the last time HS2 was reviewed saying it could never offer value for money, the Government of the day still backed it. It's predicted by most business leaders that commuting for office based staff will likely reduce again, following the spike during the get-back-to-office post pandemic, with most predicting 1 or 2 days in the office, or even complete remote working. Those commuters that *have* to be on site such as retail, cleaning staff and so on, tend to be lower paid workers who can't afford to use expensive trains, and hence tend to live within bus distance (or tube as well, in London).

[@dominiccottrill2387]

So much going on here, when are you next updating?

[@theboy-uk]

I was aiming to revisit this location twice a year, so I'd be aiming for Autumn time, unless I'm informed of radical changes 👍

[@dominiccottrill2387]

@@theboy-uk EWR are racing to get that track finished...notice how they are joining the two up so they can run trains from HS2 to EWR.

[@theboy-uk]

@@dominiccottrill2387 EWR might be racing, but this section is waiting on HS2, who are dragging their heels :(. There is no intention to have any link between the EWR and HS2 services going forward.

[@dominiccottrill2387]

@@theboy-uk Yes there is. HS2 just confirmed they are rebuilding GCR link to Aylesbury and the plans include a depot on the join. As you can see about 40s in, they are building a curve to the south joining the 2 railways. They are also planning another curve to the north.

[@theboy-uk]

@@dominiccottrill2387 Ah, is that very recent? As the last time I checked, the plans to link Aylesbury to the old Varsity was kicked so far down the road, it looked like it would never happen. Additionally, running local services over HS2 blows their business plan requirements (to run a 250mph train every 3 minutes) out of the water....

[@robodrone5662]

Neverending story...

[@theboy-uk]

Progress is not quick :(

[@robodrone5662]

@@theboy-uk No rush when public money involved. Take it easy 😉

[@edsilvester]

Heartbreaking. Incredible engineering, I'm sure. But at what cost? No-one who signed this off agreed to this much money being spent - the business case was questionable even then. By now, disaster must be baked-in to the plan. It seems to have lost all governance. HS2 free to spend, destroy and then apologise later.

[@chrisspencer6502]

Bla bla bla

[@edsilvester]

That’s your argument?

[@theboy-uk]

I remember from the roadshows that the entity formerly known as Railtrack put on, they felt it was unclear if any of it would get off the ground, and they felt they had no chance at all of Phase 2 (North of Birmingham) ever being viable....

[@theboy-uk]

@@edsilvester Its either that, or the regurgitation of the usual HS2 provided phases about more freight and greener transport, all of which have no factual basis.

[@JohnHoward-wc9kk]

Here is the business case. Population of ONLY England in 1980 was 47m and now in 2023 it is 56.5m. Almost 10m more people needing transport for themselves and the logistics that support them. QED

[@montedaestrada3563]

Archive your videos so this travesty can be studied in the future.

[@theboy-uk]

I hope these can be a historical record of the construction,

[@fidoforme8561]

Bizarre project !!!

[@theboy-uk]

Its beyond comprehension really. A very, very expensive vanity project.

[@RitaFarrow]

so where does the hs2 track go then,hs2 work force are just glorified land scape gardenrs ,they must be laughing them selves to sleep,seems to be more roads than any track bed,,hs2 should concentrate on the trackbed land scaping later ,no wonder its gone tits up,oh yer thanks for sharing,message not ailed at you

[@theboy-uk]

Sometimes its hard to tell quite where the track will be. Initial fencing off of the land was nearly 3 years ago now, so you can judge how well its progressing in those 3 years, LOL.

[@davidharle952]

There's a lot of land ruined for a couple of lines, yes I know it will be restored but this thing will go down in history as a massive white elephant. I read a few weeks ago that they may pull theplug soon, hopefully they will but too late the govt's mates have had our money. Some amazing shots again, I love seeing what's happening with this folly.

[@theboy-uk]

I hope it is pulled, as its a huge waste of money for minimal gain, and will never carry the passenger numbers predicted in the business case. Sadly, I think Phase 1 is too far gone to stop without too many people having egg on their faces. The Eastern leg to Leeds is already canned, and it can't be long before the western leg to Manchester is properly canned, rather than kicked down the road, which is its current state.

[@philipareed]

@@theboy-uk But don't you think the country that invented trains should have HS2? I read somewhere a while back that it'd cost £9 billion to undo, as much as they can, what they've already done. Considering the inflation rate, I would imagine that 9 would be over 10 now, and obviously they couldn't undo all the property they've trashed and trees they've felled.

[@theboy-uk]

@@philipareed Trouble with HS2 is that from the outset, it has always been another London orientated commuter line, and there is already plenty of capacity between Birmingham and London outside of London bound morning peak. Anyone who tries to tell you different doesn't use the existing routes. To make it worthwhile, the existing routes' timetables were slowed, as the previous time between the cities was 1hr12m, which hardly warranted a new railway to save less than 15 minutes. HS2 will have to be abandoned Beeching style, or changed in to a line providing local services as soon as it opens, as it becomes clear that they will not be carrying the necessary 500,000+ passengers a day needed to make the project viable. Burying heads in the sand is not a sensible option, and a clear decision needs to be made now, either can it completely, or do it right, and let the taxpayer know that each and every taxpayer is going to be stumping up thousands of pounds per year each just to run this vanity project.

[@stevetony6876]

They said that about HS1 being a white elephant too!

[@theboy-uk]

@@stevetony6876 And away from International services from Kings Cross to Europe, it does appear to be struggling....