(Belatedly) speaking truth unto trainspotters

At Bauer’s “National Rail Conference” today (15 June 2017) the ‘moderator’ is Steve Norris, and the ‘keynote speaker’ is HS2 Ltd chairman David Higgins.

Would that be the same Steve Norris who helped run the incompetent and now-defunct track maintenance company, Jarvis?

And the same David Higgins who

• mismanaged Network Rail’s Great Western electrification project, contributing to costs almost tripling?
• was appointed to “drive down” the cost of HS2, and completely failed to do so?
• on 17 November 2014, told the House of Commons transport committee that “a railway line where trains travel at 220 miles an hour as opposed to 120 miles an hour clearly has nearly twice the capacity because you can have twice as many trains on it”?

Mr Higgins’ capacity dissemblance was revealed on the Beleben blog on 18 November 2014. But the largely trainspotter readership of Bauer’s “Rail” magazine had to wait more than two years to be told the capacity truth.

Who wants more austerity, to pay for HS2?

‘£56 billion’ spent on HS2 would mean ‘£56 billion’ not spent on fixing Britain’s collapsing public services, dilapidated roads, and social housing stock.

Yet there are still some people who think building HS2 is a good idea.

HS2 and self-driving cars

Although KPMG UK were happy to take the government’s shilling(s) to eulogise HS2, KPMG worldwide seems to take a different view on high speed rail.