HS2 - Is the UK shunting its rail infrastructure onto a dead siding?
All right, all right, I'll admit it. High Speed Rail has become something of a fad lately. It seems as if every country with more than two working steam engines wants to get in on the game, whether it makes sense or not. France's TGV network, as well as the Japanese Shinkansen have both become the "shining" examples of what other countries are trying to achieve. And while Germany is slowly working on connecting its previously disconnected High Speed lines, Austria and Switzerland are making the best of what topography they have been dealt, hell, even the US is slowly but surely putting its money where its mouth is with the California High Speed Rail project to complement its Acela Services in the Northeast Corridor, where is Great Britain, the home of modern railways in all of this?
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| The shape of things to come? Eurostar Train on HS1 Photo by Paul Johnston, originally uploaded to Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons 2.0 |
In a shambles, that's where it is. Okay, that was a bit harsh, but while the rest of the world has been building up its infrastructure for the needs of the 21st century, the UK has been resting on its laurels, and is apparently content to just keep operating within the constraints of what is in effect Victorian infrastructure. Once again, to be fair, some of that infrastructure has been built with what now appears to be remarkable foresight. Indeed, when one takes the Great Western Main Line running between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads station, it becomes clear that this line already has all the hallmarks of a modern High Speed Rail line, with wide, gradual curves, shallow gradients, and the gratuitous use of tunnels and bridges to even out the undulations of the terrain the line runs through. All this conspired to give the line its Victorian nickname, "Brunel's Billiard Table", after Sir Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the chief engineer behind the project.
However, not mich has happened since the great trunk lines were built during the reign of Queen Victoria. Sure, new rolling stock has been introduced, parts of the network have been electrified, and station interiors have been updated, but the heart of the network is in effect from the 19th century. And, until recently, not much was done to change that. While other countries built new railway lines, re-aligned existing ones, and optimised their railway networks, railways in Britain remained in deadlock. Privatisation under the helm of Mad Maggie Thatcher certainly did not help the situation either. British Rail seemed to be doomed to whither on the vine while on the Continent, SNCF and other rail companies were going ahead with building lines that would become the backbone of their high-speed rail network.
Then came Eurotunnel. A project that had been floated regularly since the times of Napoleon, work on a tunnel underneath the English Channel finally began in 1998. By the time the tunnel opened in 1994, the French end had already been connected to the LGV Nord high speed line, enabling the new Eurostar High Speed trains to operate at their maximum speed until they exited the tunnel on the UK side. There, they were forced to operate on the same 19th century lines as the rest of the UK rail traffic, and were limited to running at 160 km/h instead of the 300 km/h that were able on the LGV Nord.
I don't know whether it was a piece of one-upmanship or a rare case of common sense that made British politicians and network planners realise that a similar high speed connection was needed on UK soil if Eurostar was ever to become a success. Plans for such a line had been prepared long in advance, but were finally set in motion in the 1990s. The resulting line, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, or High Speed 1 (HS1) became fully operational in 2007. The 103 kilometre long line finally brought world-class high speed rail to the United Kingdom, terminating at the vastly remodelled and refurbished St. Pancras station in London.
By this time, another major railway project was in the advanced planning stages and about to start construction. Crossrail will provide a new east-west link through and underneath London. The entire line, which will incorporate some existing lines will be 118 kilometres long, the longest railway line built in the United Kingdom since the 19th century.
While both projects are certainly to be commended, they both have one major drawback: They are centred around London, and have little effect save for a few communities in Kent along the HS1 line that are connected by one of the four stations on the line. The vast bulk of the line was still dependent upon the speed limited lines I mentioned earlier in this article. That is about to change. A new project is currently in its advanced planning stages, a project that will potentially dwarf both HS1 and Crossrail. The imaginatively named High Speed 2 (HS2) project will, in its first stage, provide a High Speed Rail Line between London Euston Station and Birmingham. Stage two will see the line extended to Manchester as well as to Leeds via Sheffield. By the time the project is completed in 2033, the UK will have gained the backbone of a highly capable High Speed Rail Network.
However, the project is highly controversial. Despite its obvious benefits, and the urgent need to update the country's railway infrastructure, a broad and quite frankly scary coalition of opponents has joined forced to stop this project. The usual suspects are there, Environmental Action Groups, Neighbourhood action groups and other NIMBYs, Left wing political groups and the ever-present anti-everything brigade. However, it is worrying that the neo-fascist nationalist United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) has also started agitating against the project. Considering the fact that UKIP, riding on the current wave of xenophobia and isolationism in the UK, could achieve major gains during the next parliamentary elections, this represents a major threat to a much needed infrastructure project.
Now why exactly is HS2 so important? Well, first of all, it will effectively halve the travel times from Birmingham and other cities in the Midlands to London, while not affecting the existing railway lines, as HS2 will be completely separate save for some stations. Secondly, almost all major transport thoroughfares heading to London are at or near capacity by the time reach the Greater London metropolitan area, leaving little room for further expansion. This is not limited to rail, motorways are similarly approaching breaking point. I don't think I even need to mention the situation of the London airports, especially Heathrow. Plus, flying from Birmingham or even Manchester or Leeds to London is borderline insane, which is saying something, considering it comes from the mouth of a true aviation fan. The biggest point however is not economic. Building HS2 is a signal to Europe, and indeed to the global business community that the UK is willing to move forward, willing to invest in its infrastructure, and that it is not content on dwelling on its glorious but long since dead past.
However, HS2 must under no circumstance remain a singular project, as impressive as it may be. I mentioned in my opening statement that a number of the great Victorian railways, namely the Great Western Main Line, already have all the hallmarks of modern high speed lines. Trains have already been tested on these lines with Speeds of up to 225 km/h. While significantly lower than the 350 km/h envisioned for the new HS2 line, such speeds will be a major improvement over the current state of affairs. Furthermore, upgrades especially to the above mentioned "Victorian High Speed" lines primarily affect signalling on the line and in the gains, and can therefore be carried out at a fraction of the costs of HS2. Together with a concerted electrification effort of the main lines, this would create a highly capable conventional high speed network, able to serve the United Kingdom well into the future.
But why the hell is that so important? Well there are a number of reasons. The biggest one in my eyes is the provision of numerous alternative means of trouble. If the western world would ever be hit by a repeat of the 1970's oil crisis, both cars, buses, and aircraft would be severely affected. However, electrified railways like HS2 would still be able to operate, as they are supplied with power via third rail or overhead catenary, which are in turn connected to the UK's network of power stations. An while there may be a number of oil-filled power stations, the immense number of coal fired stations, nuclear reactors, hydroelectric dams, wind farms, etc. should serve to keep the impact of any oil boycott to a minimum.
The United Kingdom has traditionally been seen as the birthplace of modern rail travel. For decades, British engines were the fastest, their trains the most comfortable, indeed luxurious, and their rail network the most effective in the world. This position has long since turned into dust, like the vast, global empire that it helped to build. Indeed, over the last thirty years, Rail Travel in the UK has become the butt of jokes, ridicule and pity. HS2 is THE chance to change all of this. While being highly efficient in its own right, it can also serve as a nucleus for an extensive, and much needed revitalisation and modernisation of the UK rail network. Don't waste this chance, Britain. You may never get another one like it!
However, not mich has happened since the great trunk lines were built during the reign of Queen Victoria. Sure, new rolling stock has been introduced, parts of the network have been electrified, and station interiors have been updated, but the heart of the network is in effect from the 19th century. And, until recently, not much was done to change that. While other countries built new railway lines, re-aligned existing ones, and optimised their railway networks, railways in Britain remained in deadlock. Privatisation under the helm of Mad Maggie Thatcher certainly did not help the situation either. British Rail seemed to be doomed to whither on the vine while on the Continent, SNCF and other rail companies were going ahead with building lines that would become the backbone of their high-speed rail network.
Then came Eurotunnel. A project that had been floated regularly since the times of Napoleon, work on a tunnel underneath the English Channel finally began in 1998. By the time the tunnel opened in 1994, the French end had already been connected to the LGV Nord high speed line, enabling the new Eurostar High Speed trains to operate at their maximum speed until they exited the tunnel on the UK side. There, they were forced to operate on the same 19th century lines as the rest of the UK rail traffic, and were limited to running at 160 km/h instead of the 300 km/h that were able on the LGV Nord.
I don't know whether it was a piece of one-upmanship or a rare case of common sense that made British politicians and network planners realise that a similar high speed connection was needed on UK soil if Eurostar was ever to become a success. Plans for such a line had been prepared long in advance, but were finally set in motion in the 1990s. The resulting line, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, or High Speed 1 (HS1) became fully operational in 2007. The 103 kilometre long line finally brought world-class high speed rail to the United Kingdom, terminating at the vastly remodelled and refurbished St. Pancras station in London.
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| The Eurostar platforms at the refurbished St. Pancras Station in London. It is likely that any existing stations connected to HS2 will receive similar facelifts and renovations. Image by Mark Ahsmann, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under Creative Commons 3.0 |
While both projects are certainly to be commended, they both have one major drawback: They are centred around London, and have little effect save for a few communities in Kent along the HS1 line that are connected by one of the four stations on the line. The vast bulk of the line was still dependent upon the speed limited lines I mentioned earlier in this article. That is about to change. A new project is currently in its advanced planning stages, a project that will potentially dwarf both HS1 and Crossrail. The imaginatively named High Speed 2 (HS2) project will, in its first stage, provide a High Speed Rail Line between London Euston Station and Birmingham. Stage two will see the line extended to Manchester as well as to Leeds via Sheffield. By the time the project is completed in 2033, the UK will have gained the backbone of a highly capable High Speed Rail Network.
However, the project is highly controversial. Despite its obvious benefits, and the urgent need to update the country's railway infrastructure, a broad and quite frankly scary coalition of opponents has joined forced to stop this project. The usual suspects are there, Environmental Action Groups, Neighbourhood action groups and other NIMBYs, Left wing political groups and the ever-present anti-everything brigade. However, it is worrying that the neo-fascist nationalist United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) has also started agitating against the project. Considering the fact that UKIP, riding on the current wave of xenophobia and isolationism in the UK, could achieve major gains during the next parliamentary elections, this represents a major threat to a much needed infrastructure project.
Now why exactly is HS2 so important? Well, first of all, it will effectively halve the travel times from Birmingham and other cities in the Midlands to London, while not affecting the existing railway lines, as HS2 will be completely separate save for some stations. Secondly, almost all major transport thoroughfares heading to London are at or near capacity by the time reach the Greater London metropolitan area, leaving little room for further expansion. This is not limited to rail, motorways are similarly approaching breaking point. I don't think I even need to mention the situation of the London airports, especially Heathrow. Plus, flying from Birmingham or even Manchester or Leeds to London is borderline insane, which is saying something, considering it comes from the mouth of a true aviation fan. The biggest point however is not economic. Building HS2 is a signal to Europe, and indeed to the global business community that the UK is willing to move forward, willing to invest in its infrastructure, and that it is not content on dwelling on its glorious but long since dead past.
However, HS2 must under no circumstance remain a singular project, as impressive as it may be. I mentioned in my opening statement that a number of the great Victorian railways, namely the Great Western Main Line, already have all the hallmarks of modern high speed lines. Trains have already been tested on these lines with Speeds of up to 225 km/h. While significantly lower than the 350 km/h envisioned for the new HS2 line, such speeds will be a major improvement over the current state of affairs. Furthermore, upgrades especially to the above mentioned "Victorian High Speed" lines primarily affect signalling on the line and in the gains, and can therefore be carried out at a fraction of the costs of HS2. Together with a concerted electrification effort of the main lines, this would create a highly capable conventional high speed network, able to serve the United Kingdom well into the future.
But why the hell is that so important? Well there are a number of reasons. The biggest one in my eyes is the provision of numerous alternative means of trouble. If the western world would ever be hit by a repeat of the 1970's oil crisis, both cars, buses, and aircraft would be severely affected. However, electrified railways like HS2 would still be able to operate, as they are supplied with power via third rail or overhead catenary, which are in turn connected to the UK's network of power stations. An while there may be a number of oil-filled power stations, the immense number of coal fired stations, nuclear reactors, hydroelectric dams, wind farms, etc. should serve to keep the impact of any oil boycott to a minimum.
The United Kingdom has traditionally been seen as the birthplace of modern rail travel. For decades, British engines were the fastest, their trains the most comfortable, indeed luxurious, and their rail network the most effective in the world. This position has long since turned into dust, like the vast, global empire that it helped to build. Indeed, over the last thirty years, Rail Travel in the UK has become the butt of jokes, ridicule and pity. HS2 is THE chance to change all of this. While being highly efficient in its own right, it can also serve as a nucleus for an extensive, and much needed revitalisation and modernisation of the UK rail network. Don't waste this chance, Britain. You may never get another one like it!
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