Will HS2 Fail or Succeed?

Elevated railways are already being done/planned in other countries.
https://www.railjournal.com/in_depth/elevated-ambitions 
https://www.citymetric.com/transport/elevated-rail-more-effective-trenching-so-why-it-so-hard-melbourne-1920 
https://inhabitat.com/elevated-caterpillar-trains-fly-over-traffic-without-blocking-out-the-cityscape/


Self-supporting, modular, elevated rail systems are far more efficient due to multiple usage of land, create minimal reduction in urban, rural and agricultural land use, less risk from railway crossings, less disruptive in construction, etc.


Minimal disruption, maximum construction speed, scale, consistent quality and repeatability, least environmental destruction, and standardised construction using modular construction techniques.
https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/special-reports/only-procurement-is-holding-back-modular-construction-in-rail-21-09-2017/ 

The Department for Transport says the project will cut Birmingham to London journey times from one hour 21 minutes to 52 minutes (a saving of 30 mins in ideal situations) with Phase 1 by 2031. Will this really happen on time and budget and is this a significant change to business and travel between London and the Midlands? Covid-19 has shown there will be a big shift to on-line meetings, virtual team working, cyber-collaboration, 3D Virtual Reality/AI immersed meetings, virtual conferences and seminars where your avatar will be able to walk around a virtual meeting/conference centre, meet people, interact in cyber-booths, etc, requiring far less face-to-face meetings, and thus far less long distance travel? HS2 Phase 2 to Leeds and Manchester by 2040 when the world will have changed two or three cycles by then given the pace of change of technology. 20 years ago in 2000 we didn't have smart phones, on-line streaming, 3D VR helmets, reusable rockets, Uber, Lyft, Air BNB, 4G, personal medical and fitness devices, wearable technology, tele-medicine, etc, on-line collaboration, social media, personal GPS services, multiple satellite services. Imagine what we will have by 2030 and then 2040 and you will only be able to come uo with say 10% of what will be designed and used day-to-day! The world will have rapidly moved on and past conventional rail travel as we know it today, and well before a HS2-lite version eventually gets to Birmingham by 2035 (earliest if ever) at £150bn+.

The new railway line running between London and the West Midlands would carry 400m-long (1,300ft) trains with as many as 1,100 seats per train - whether fully booked or empty - waste of resources using standard sized trains for all demand scenarios: 0 passengers to overcrowded.


Lets shunt ourselves into the third decade of the 21st Century and be forward looking, innovative and world leading in sustainable railway/mass mobility, and develop technology we can globally export to other countries also grappling with future mass transit rail systems.


U-turn spinning top on Covid-19 policies, U-turn on BREXIT border checks and other issues, U-turn on Huawei, U-turn on the golden era of trade with China - I wouldn't be surprised given the pressure on national coffers during Covid-19 to see a Boris U-turn on HS2 as it is today by the summer.


Repayment of £100bn+ spent to keep the country afloat with wages/salaries/business loans/PPE, or >£106bn - £200bn over 10-30 years for a short stretch (relative) of conventional, yesterday technology, railway to save 30 mins (at best with no problems on the journey) travelling between London and Birmingham when the whole way we will be living and working is changing around us as we speak. I support Option A, the one that is better taxpayer value for money to future proof us and make us more resilient as a nation, over a legacy project first proposed in 2009 and that wouldn't deliver until 2040 at the earliest, if at all.

Elevated railways are already being done/planned in other countries.
https://www.railjournal.com/in_depth/elevated-ambitions 
https://www.citymetric.com/transport/elevated-rail-more-effective-trenching-so-why-it-so-hard-melbourne-1920 
https://inhabitat.com/elevated-caterpillar-trains-fly-over-traffic-without-blocking-out-the-cityscape/


Self-supporting, modular, elevated rail systems are far more efficient due to multiple usage of land, create minimal reduction in urban, rural and agricultural land use, less risk from railway crossings, less disruptive in construction, etc.


Minimal disruption, maximum construction speed, scale, consistent quality and repeatability, least environmental destruction, and standardised construction using modular construction techniques.
https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/special-reports/only-procurement-is-holding-back-modular-construction-in-rail-21-09-2017/ 

The Department for Transport says the project will cut Birmingham to London journey times from one hour 21 minutes to 52 minutes (a saving of 30 mins in ideal situations) with Phase 1 by 2031. Will this really happen on time and budget and is this a significant change to business and travel between London and the Midlands? Covid-19 has shown there will be a big shift to on-line meetings, virtual team working, cyber-collaboration, 3D Virtual Reality/AI immersed meetings, virtual conferences and seminars where your avatar will be able to walk around a virtual meeting/conference centre, meet people, interact in cyber-booths, etc, requiring far less face-to-face meetings, and thus far less long distance travel? HS2 Phase 2 to Leeds and Manchester by 2040 when the world will have changed two or three cycles by then given the pace of change of technology. 20 years ago in 2000 we didn't have smart phones, on-line streaming, 3D VR helmets, reusable rockets, Uber, Lyft, Air BNB, 4G, personal medical and fitness devices, wearable technology, tele-medicine, etc, on-line collaboration, social media, personal GPS services, multiple satellite services. Imagine what we will have by 2030 and then 2040 and you will only be able to come uo with say 10% of what will be designed and used day-to-day! The world will have rapidly moved on and past conventional rail travel as we know it today, and well before a HS2-lite version eventually gets to Birmingham by 2035 (earliest if ever) at £150bn+.

The new railway line running between London and the West Midlands would carry 400m-long (1,300ft) trains with as many as 1,100 seats per train - whether fully booked or empty - waste of resources using standard sized trains for all demand scenarios: 0 passengers to overcrowded.


Lets shunt ourselves into the third decade of the 21st Century and be forward looking, innovative and world leading in sustainable railway/mass mobility, and develop technology we can globally export to other countries also grappling with future mass transit rail systems.


U-turn spinning top on Covid-19 policies, U-turn on BREXIT border checks and other issues, U-turn on Huawei, U-turn on the golden era of trade with China - I wouldn't be surprised given the pressure on national coffers during Covid-19 to see a Boris U-turn on HS2 as it is today by the summer.


Repayment of £100bn+ spent to keep the country afloat with wages/salaries/business loans/PPE, or >£106bn - £200bn over 10-30 years for a short stretch (relative) of conventional, yesterday technology, railway to save 30 mins (at best with no problems on the journey) travelling between London and Birmingham when the whole way we will be living and working is changing around us as we speak. I support Option A, the one that is better taxpayer value for money to future proof us and make us more resilient as a nation, over a legacy project first proposed in 2009 and that wouldn't deliver until 2040 at the earliest, if at all.