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HM Government seems keen to press on with this scheme, which aims to build a new high-speed line between London and Birmingham, with a possible extension to Manchester..The cost of this is quoted as £Billions, but it is supposed to bring economic benefits far surpassing this, they say.Already there is much opposition to the proposed line of route, but the proponents point to the existing Channel Tunnel link line (High Speed 1) and trumpet the benefits it has brought to Kent and the south east
Now I know that the domestic trains using this route have proved very handy for people living along it; my elder daughter's father-in-law uses it to travel to St Pancras on the first stage of his frequent business journeys to Glasgow and he has told me how useful it is .
However, I feel that HS2 is costing far more than our current straitened finances will allow
If HM Government has this amount to spend on railways then ,I feel, it should go on nationwide imprtovements which wouild benefit millions of people. Closed lines such as Keswick to Penrith, East-West (Oxford to Cambridge) and part of the old Great Central could be re-opened for a fraction of this amount, with concomitant improvements elsewhere.
On Thursday, 16th June next I hope to attend on behalf of CRUG the Southport meeting of TravelWatch Northwest, where a speaker from HS2 or Greengauge 21 is scheduled to speak. There I should have the chance to make my views known.
Despite all our efforts........
There have been several examples recently of cancelled trains, and trains without conductors which failed to stop to pick up passengers. There was also a points failure at Whitehaven which led to delays and great inconvenience to potential passengers.The 10.01 from Barrow to Carlisle on Monday 18 April didn't stop at Seascale, and presumably other stations. There were sixteen people waiting for this train, some of whom had connections to catch at Carlisle. Then a few days later on Good Friday, the same thing happened with the 07.28 Whitehaven to Barrow .
Thirty people were waiting for the 10.01 at Seascale. When it didn’t arrive after some time,a person rang up and was told that it, and the next scheduled service 11.01, had been cancelled. Many left the station to go home or make alternative arrangements; then the 11.01 came after all. On another occasion of a cancelled train, on 26 March, the train tracker gave no indication that the train had been cancelled.
On Thursday 7 April, a delayed Barrow-Carlisle train was terminated at Workington and the people transferred to buses. This again led to missed connections at Carlisle.
It’s bad enough when the train doesn’t come or stop, but it only makes things worse when people aren’t informed of cancellations, etc. Northern Rail really must introduce a communication system for unmanned stations. Ths is one of CRUG’s main objectives.
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