Reply to: Country with the biggest network of high speed trains?

[TykeMerc]

That's why contract should be awarded to French or German or Japanese company.

HTH

The name and nationality of the prime contractor has little bearing on the time and cost over-runs, excessive red tape and nimby objections from the public are the biggest contributors by far.

[AtW]

Considering it cost something like £10B to improve the WCML to go from 110mph to 125mph, I wonder if the people that thought up that figure did the costings for the Olypmics.

That's why contract should be awarded to French or German or Japanese company.

HTH

[MrMark]

Considering it cost something like £10B to improve the WCML to go from 110mph to 125mph, I wonder if the people that thought up that figure did the costings for the Olypmics.

It's the time overrun that will really add on the costs. Anyone remember how long it took in the end just to build a football stadium (Wembley)?

[centurian]

High speed (200 mph+) rail link: London-Brum-Manchester-Leeds-Glasgow is deemed to cost £20 bln, by comparison 2.5% VAT cut will cost Treasury £12.5 per year.

Considering it cost something like £10B to improve the WCML to go from 110mph to 125mph, I wonder if the people that thought up that figure did the costings for the Olypmics.

[PRC1964]

<dull_trivia>Dr Zhivago was (mostly) filmed in Spain.</dull_trivia>

[minestrone]

Did the train from Madrid to Seville, made the Glasgow to Edinburgh train look like Doctor Zhivago, Alec Guinness selling the tickets as the red's cavalry stormed out the box section.

[ThomasSoerensen]

but the lowered VAT kick-started the economy to former glory days - so it is money well spent.

[AtW]

I imagine we received the same level of EU subsidies as Spain we could.

High speed (200 mph+) rail link: London-Brum-Manchester-Leeds-Glasgow is deemed to cost £20 bln, by comparison 2.5% VAT cut will cost Treasury £12.5 per year.

[Flashman]

Japan? France? Germany?

You'd be wrong:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124018395386633143.html

Now why can't we do that?

I imagine we received the same level of EU subsidies as Spain we could.

[MrMark]

jejeje!!!

[Pinto]

NO cheap fares if you don't speak Spanish...

http://southofwatford.blogspot.com/2...-you-dont.html

Not saying they're not entitled to do this; just pointing out you should be careful.

Como un hispanohablante no tengo problemas con este...

esto

[MrMark]

NO cheap fares if you don't speak Spanish...

http://southofwatford.blogspot.com/2...-you-dont.html

Not saying they're not entitled to do this; just pointing out you should be careful.

Como un hispanohablante no tengo problemas con este...

[Moscow Mule]

You normally get your money back if the service is delayed more than 15 minutes. Can you imagine that happening in the UK?

In theory you can do this on UK trains too. Not sure what the "late" threshold is though. http://www.traindelays.co.uk/

Word of warning though - they charge more if you book at the station instead of using the internet. I think they hope to make money on all the tourists who use the line.

And why not?

Works the same in London with foreign folk not being told about Oyster being 50% cheaper than paying cash (unless they can read the same signs locals can read)...

[MrMark]

You normally get your money back if the service is delayed more than 15 minutes. Can you imagine that happening in the UK?

Word of warning though - they charge more if you book at the station instead of using the internet. I think they hope to make money on all the tourists who use the line.

[TykeMerc]

It's also worth noting that they are not as constrained by planning regulations as we are here. In Spain if the government want to knock down your house to build a railway line, they just do it.

Very true, our planning and Public Enquiry system causes all sorts of issues for any major infrastructure work.

I was working for Railtrack when they were doing the East Coast Mainline and Channel Link projects and the costs and delays associated with Planning objections dwarfed the engineering costs of the actual projects.
Decades of poor maintenance budgets and outright neglect of the infrastructure has left us needing a massive programme of work to bring the network into the 20th let alone the 21st centrury.