Government to order review of costly project no-one wants.....

[Mordac]

HS2 is expensive and if we are to spend that sort of money we should at least do something innovative. Rather than ripping up communities and farmland to get London commuters to their work slightly more quickly we should put an overhead train down the centre of the M1, M6 and M62 motorways using new technology such as Tubular Rail. Then scrap the plans to extend Heathrow and build the Thames Estuary Airport. Let's make Britain great again

There are so many reasons why the Estuary Airport is a terrible idea. The biggest is probably the risk of bird strikes, being that the Thames Estuary is basically a giant bird sanctuary.
The second biggest being the cost of relocating all the freight, catering, engineering, hotel and other dedicated airport businesses currently located around Heathrow, plus all the people (c.80k+) who will be working just at the new airport. You'd need to build a new city the size of Birmingham close to the new airport to accommodate all the people and businesses who currently work at, or serve Heathrow in some way. Plus you'd need to widen the M25 to about 12 lanes each way so passengers can actually get there.
In short, it's not going to happen.

[BrilloPad]

There are so many reasons why the Estuary Airport is a terrible idea. The biggest is probably the risk of bird strikes, being that the Thames Estuary is basically a giant bird sanctuary.
The second biggest being the cost of relocating all the freight, catering, engineering, hotel and other dedicated airport businesses currently located around Heathrow, plus all the people (c.80k+) who will be working just at the new airport. You'd need to build a new city the size of Birmingham close to the new airport to accommodate all the people and businesses who currently work at, or serve Heathrow in some way. Plus you'd need to widen the M25 to about 12 lanes each way so passengers can actually get there.
In short, it's not going to happen.

I think you missed USS Montgomery.

But one plus reason is a new Thames barrier will be needed and could be incorporated into the new airport.

[GJABS]

Why does the taxpayer have to fund the billions required for HS2? Why not get the private sector to cough up. Answer probably because they would refuse and say it would be a bad investment. In which case it is probably a bad investment for the taxpayer too.

[original PM]

Having been to Japan, not just looked at videos on the internet, they have a very efficient train service. The video shared above is about a commuter train, not the Shinkansen.

The “guys in white gloves” are the platform conductors.
The trains run on time, are clean and efficient.
They are part public/part private sector

...but hey, best reject any foreign ideas that work based on not wanting to understand them, and try to do it all ourselves.

Did you leave your sense of humour in a glass by your bedside - along with your teeth?

[Mordac]

I think you missed USS Montgomery.

But one plus reason is a new Thames barrier will be needed and could be incorporated into the new airport.

I'd forgotten about that, but it's way down the list of reasons not to relocate the world's second busiest international airport to the middle of nowhere.

[Mordac]

Why does the taxpayer have to fund the billions required for HS2? Why not get the private sector to cough up. Answer probably because they would refuse and say it would be a bad investment. In which case it is probably a bad investment for the taxpayer too.

The only way a private company could recoup that sort of investment would be to make travelling on the line so horrendously expensive, nobody would actually travel on it. If there was an economic benefit (and I don't think there is enough to make it worthwhile) all that benefit would go to the govt in increased tax revenues, so there's no incentive for the private sector to touch it with a tulipy stick.

[GJABS]

There are so many reasons why the Estuary Airport is a terrible idea. The biggest is probably the risk of bird strikes, being that the Thames Estuary is basically a giant bird sanctuary.
The second biggest being the cost of relocating all the freight, catering, engineering, hotel and other dedicated airport businesses currently located around Heathrow, plus all the people (c.80k+) who will be working just at the new airport. You'd need to build a new city the size of Birmingham close to the new airport to accommodate all the people and businesses who currently work at, or serve Heathrow in some way. Plus you'd need to widen the M25 to about 12 lanes each way so passengers can actually get there.
In short, it's not going to happen.

I would argue that these costs would more than be covered by the cash realised by the sale of their west London (expensive) properties (with the fact that the new property they'll need in the estuary would be far cheaper). Heathrow airport itself covers enough land that sold for housing would raise billions - enough for high speed rail and road links to the estuary and more.

[OwlHoot]

Oh, look, those stupid Victorians already thought of it:

Great Central Railway - Wikipedia

Until it got Beechinged along with umpteen thousand other miles of railways.

Hey don't knock Beeching - I've just completed the purchase of half a mile of abandoned 50 feet deep railway cutting, adjoining the end of my garden, including both sides. So I now have a lifetime supply of wood, from the literally hundreds of mature trees growing all along the sides, and a two or three acre completely secure and private area along the old tracks between two bridges, for growing this or that or walking the mutt if I ever acquired one.

I'm told the last chuff chuff want past in the 1960s.

[NigelJK]

Get hold of an old carriage and turn it into the ultimate mobile summer house.

[Lance]

Well it was not Farage's proposal. But Farage agreed with the caller.

I agree with you your initial start point - but I want to see Liverpool, Sheffield, Hull and Newcastle added then Birmingham.

Then instead of rebuilding Houses of parliament, they can relocate them in the Yorkshire moors. Making the UK less London centric should be a priority.

Hebden Bridge I heard suggested as venue for parliament. Close enough to the centre of gravity of the country. It's metropolitan (full of lesbians). It's Yorkshire Dales rather than Moors but close enough.