[Boiler]

Good Lord, I've seen the masts going up alongside the Geddington Bypass for *ages*...

[Bones McCoy]

Boris' latest misadventures have shifted the language back to plain talk when ministers tell porkies.

I welcome this: The American bollox about mis-spoke, alternate facts etc always had me cringing.

[Nigredo]

[satnav]

In response to P&O sacking British workers and replacing them with much cheaper foreign agency workers Shapps has suggested that some of their ferries with English sounding names like 'The Pride of Canterbury' should be renamed. That will have the owners of P&O quaking in their boots.

[Youngian]

More excruciating accidental Partridge from Shapps. Quentin Wilson looks like an aged street level crim down on his luck.

[Boiler]

Energy rationing not part of UK approach, minister says

I think the rise in energy costs will do that for you, Mr. Shapps.

[Cyclist]

The HS2 project gets smaller and smaller

Grant Shapps has privately promised to scrap a controversial £3bn branch of the HS2 train line that carves through the constituency of the 1922 Committee chair, Sir Graham Brady, and two other Tory MPs, the Guardian understands.

The link, known as the Golborne spur, would connect the main Crewe-Manchester HS2 line to the west coast mainline just south of Wigan.

Brady, the Tory MP for Altrincham and Sale West, which would be affected by the spur, wrote to a constituent last week saying Shapps had given him “categorical verbal assurances” that it would be removed from the HS2 bill currently going through parliament.

The link has been the subject of heated lobbying by MPs in the Warrington, Wigan and Trafford areas where their constituencies would be affected. But the private assurances from Shapps to Brady, who runs the powerful 1922 Committee of backbenchers, may raise questions about why the transport secretary has not made public any decision...

https://amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... h-scrapped

A cynic might think they're totally clueless and just making it up as they go along.

[Nigredo]

This time next year we'll be wondering if it even goes to Watford.

[Cyclist]

The underling is just like her boss

Bedford and Kempston MP, Mohammad Yasin (Labour) has described his meeting this week with the rail minister, Wendy Morton, as the most disappointing he’s had since becoming an MP, saying she appeared to know very little about the East West Rail project...

https://www.bedfordindependent.co.uk/be ... ry-career/

...“I was seeking an update on the status of the EWR project but despite having plenty of time to prepare for the meeting, the rail minister appeared to know very little about one of the biggest infrastructure project plans in her in-tray,” said Mr Yasin.

“To say it was the most disappointing meeting I’ve had since becoming an MP would be an understatement.

“Ms Morton couldn’t answer any of my questions about the project, about why there were ongoing delays to the consultation response, about whether the line would be electrified from day one, about why the Development Consent order (DCO) has been delayed.”

Mr Yasin raised the concerns of constituents over the first consultation but said the rail minister “didn’t seem to even be aware of the preferred route E.”

“The one thing Ms Morton did confirm was that the project was going ahead, but because the outcome of the DFT’s business case review has not yet been published, I’m not confident the Department have a clue what’s going on.”

Mr Yasin asked the rail minister to consider the profound implications the ongoing delays were having on residents impacted by the threat of compulsory purchase and blight.

“The preferred route announcement has triggered search returns which render homes unsellable, but there is no prospect of blight pay-outs until the Development Consent order is published, which is now not expected until 2023.

“While the Minister said she regretted people were in this position, she offered no reassurances that the DFT were going to do anything about it.”...

"Let them eat cake", basically.

[Bones McCoy]

The HS2 project gets smaller and smaller

This time next year: H2S - Euston to Kilburn High Road.

Edit: Apologies - just spoted Nigredo's similar post.

[Boiler]

I understand HS2 will now hang a right near Nottingham and join the ECML at Newark.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-n ... 274952.amp

[Bones McCoy]

I understand HS2 will now hang a right near Nottingham and join the ECML at Newark.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-n ... 274952.amp

If I understand that correctly, it will then trundle along between the ordinary trains and ordinary speeds.

What a third rate country we are becoming.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Either that or it goes at a decent speed because the other trains have been removed.

[Boiler]

This intrigues me because the ECML was signalled for 140mph running (hence the now-scrapped Class 91s and Mk. IV stock being called InterCity 225s, a reference to their top speed in km/h) but it never did because of the cost in electricity to run the trains at that speed - plus I'm not sure that the power supply could cope either, it certainly wasn't happy when GNER used the NightStar stock on the line.

[Bones McCoy]

Either that or it goes at a decent speed because the other trains have been removed.

That will rather miss the objective to increase capacity.

And don't they require specially specced track to run at the increased speeds?

[Boiler]

Either that or it goes at a decent speed because the other trains have been removed.

That will rather miss the objective to increase capacity.

And don't they require specially specced track to run at the increased speeds?

The main difference is in-cab signalling - at the moment a couple of groups I'm involved with are looking at how to incorporate ETCS into both steam and heritage diesel locomotives so they can continue to run on the main line. The southern end of the ECML (from KGX to Stoke Tunnel) is due to go live with ETCS/ERTMS pretty soon. This will mean the end of traditional signals.

https://www.railjournal.com/news/emu-su ... main-line/

[Watchman]

Not being a train buff, I believe there is some knowledge here; I’ve always been a bit puzzled by HS2 here in the East Mids, as tons of money has been poured into the East Midlands Gateway, massive distribution warehouses and a rail terminal for shipping containers, quite a big set up just NE of airport, so I need it explaining how the two were envisaged to operate in the same area

[Boiler]

Rail unions vow to fight government strike threat

Rail unions have reacted with fury to a government threat to make strike action illegal unless a minimum number of train staff work during a walkout.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said a law would protect freight shipments of goods such as food and fuel.

But unions vowed "fierce resistance" to any curb on the right to strike, calling the move "authoritarian" and "desperate nonsense".

[Tubby Isaacs]

Italy actually has something like this, a guarantee of minimum services on strike days, agreed with Trenitalia. But this is obviously intended to be something imposed rather than agreed.

[Boiler]

Of course, if people can WFH the disruption is minimised....