It’s definitely good, but I do wonder (and worry) whether increased usage of rail contributes at all to the increasingly abysmal passenger rail services; when you look at the data, it’s horrific how overloaded the train lines are due to chronic under-investment.
That being said, even if this scheme was impacting passenger rail, it’s probably still good overall, especially if it leads to more investment in infrastructure (i.e. passenger rail being drastically involved in the future); I have plenty of beef with Starmer’s Labour, but I also recognise that the trains getting as bad as they are now didn’t happen overnight, so will take time to improve. (Which reminds me: I should read more about the recent budget)
One of HS2’s huge benefits will be taking large amounts of passenger traffic off the ECML, freeing it up for more freight. Just gotta hope 2a gets un-cancelled…
(Which is why I get grumpy when headlines scream “it’ll only save 30 minutes”: It’s not the only reason!)
also like 30 minutes is a fucking chunky saving, usually with public transport you’re talking saving like 3 minutes! 30 minutes can very well be what makes services usable for way more people, getting them to switch from car to train.
Is this good or bad?
Edit: Good
It’s definitely good, but I do wonder (and worry) whether increased usage of rail contributes at all to the increasingly abysmal passenger rail services; when you look at the data, it’s horrific how overloaded the train lines are due to chronic under-investment.
That being said, even if this scheme was impacting passenger rail, it’s probably still good overall, especially if it leads to more investment in infrastructure (i.e. passenger rail being drastically involved in the future); I have plenty of beef with Starmer’s Labour, but I also recognise that the trains getting as bad as they are now didn’t happen overnight, so will take time to improve. (Which reminds me: I should read more about the recent budget)
One of HS2’s huge benefits will be taking large amounts of passenger traffic off the ECML, freeing it up for more freight. Just gotta hope 2a gets un-cancelled…
(Which is why I get grumpy when headlines scream “it’ll only save 30 minutes”: It’s not the only reason!)
also like 30 minutes is a fucking chunky saving, usually with public transport you’re talking saving like 3 minutes! 30 minutes can very well be what makes services usable for way more people, getting them to switch from car to train.
Didn’t they sell off a bunch of the land that was going to be used for that? I remember being very upset at how spiteful of a gesture it felt
I don’t think they got to this in the end before the election.