Transport Insights

The Department for Transport appears to have briefed all the newspapers about the latest review into the HS2 fiasco – presumably to take the sting out of the news of more delays, cost increases, and backtracking – but one report on the Times suggests that compromises along the way will deliver a botched project.

It reports that:

Chris Gibb, previously chief operating officer at Virgin Trains, believes economic growth will be constrained because a likely reduction in capacity on Glasgow to London Euston services will inevitably push up prices.

Gibb fears the likelihood of only one hourly Glasgow-to-London train will mean the service is unable to cope with demand for special events such as the Commonwealth Games or London Marathon, as well as traditional peak points such as school holidays.

The Times and other papers have previously reported on the sacking of Chris Gibb from the Department for Transport Operator after he made similar comments, including that a lower frequency will combine with shorter trains.

The story in terms of the capacity to Glasgow is very complicated and analysis seems to depend on what you compare it against – the existing situation or the original plans for HS2.

The main problem is of course where trains built to accommodate them hit bits of track that were not built for them and depend on trains that can tilt on corners to maintain their speed.

The FT also reports:

UK ministers considered abandoning HS2 amid spiralling costs

but that:

Analysis earlier this year concluded that decommissioning the scheme could cost as much as continuing to build the railway

And various platforms are being used to leak the news that the opening date will be put back, the costs will go uo and the trains will be slower than planned – despite the main criticism in the report by Stephen Lovegrove being that the main problem with constructing the railway was “a focus on achieving the highest possible speeds”.

All outlets seem to carry a sneaky, scripted and self-serving quote from “a government source”, who is probably a spin doctor rather than a real source, having a pop at the Tories.