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Paul Bigland's blog page.

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Snapper

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Nice blog :)

I too have snapped every unit from NSE days (and 1 or 2 from blue/grey days). 5711 was one of the first two units to have black cab window surrounds when refurbished. Can't remember the other unit off-hand, maybe 5904?
Possibly so. There's been so many minor variations over the years it's easy to lose track of them - until you see them in pictures.
 

AM9

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I've started a new picture blog on the lives and times of the BR built Class 317 fleet. It's still being filled out but feel free to have a look. https://paulbigland.blog/2022/02/20/the-end-of-the-line-beckons-the-br-built-class-317s/
An interesting read, - one small criticism though, - the text says: "They were also the first units to have a maximum speed of 100mph." Which is almost true. The Class 309 EMUs were the first nearly 20 years earlier, being introduced in 1962. Otherwise, a good record of the units' history.
 

Snapper

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An interesting read, - one small criticism though, - the text says: "They were also the first units to have a maximum speed of 100mph." Which is almost true. The Class 309 EMUs were the first nearly 20 years earlier, being introduced in 1962. Otherwise, a good record of the units' history.
That's a fair point AM9 and I should have caveated it with the word 'modern' (which I will do). Thanks for pointing that out.
 

Snapper

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I don't often blog about what passes for an anti HS2 campaign very often nowadays, but today I saw their oversold and under delivered protest in central Manchester. A rag bag of Warrington Nimbys and a few folk from Extinction Rebellion. Their message delivered over a tinny megaphone was how HS2 should be stopped because building a new green public transport network will disrupt the cities roads. The irony of supposed 'greens' campaigning against rail but *for* roads was clearly lost on them! https://paulbigland.blog/2022/03/19/hs2rebellion-oops-they-did-it-again/
 

The Ham

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Here's a new blog on the forthcoming demise of the anti HS2 protest campaign and a look back at why it was always going to fail. https://paulbigland.blog/2022/03/30/hs2rebellion-and-now-the-end-is-near/

And this doesn't make for good reading for one of the anti HS2 protesters who had their case quashed:



In the magistrates court, Cuciurean’s counsel had successfully argued that finding him guilty of aggravated trespass would be a disproportionate interference of his rights of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly under articles 10 and 11 respectively of the European convention on human rights.
They had relied on the judgment of the supreme court when quashing the convictions of Nora Ziegler and three others who had formed a blockade outside a London arms fair. In that case, in June last year, the UK’s highest court said there must be a test of “proportionality” weighing up the defendants’ rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly against the disruption caused.
The ruling was a boon for protesters and was subsequently cited in other cases, including by six climate crisis activists for a protest that halted the Docklands Light Railway and the acquittal of four people over the toppling the statue of the slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol.

But Wednesday’s ruling by the high court placed limits on its applicability. The written judgment said: “Ziegler does not lay down any principle that for all offences arising out of ‘non-violent’ protest the prosecution has to prove that a conviction would be proportionate to the defendant’s rights under articles 10 and 11 of the European convention on human rights.”
It also distinguished between offences, such as those in the Ziegler case, subject to a defence of lawful or reasonable excuse, and those which are not. Another distinction it made in the current case was that the protest was on private property, stating: “Articles 10 and 11 do not bestow any ‘freedom of forum’ to justify trespass on private land or publicly owned land which is not accessible by the public.”
 

Shrop

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The last remaining anti HS2 protest camp was evicted this morning. https://paulbigland.blog/2022/05/10/the-hs2-rebellion-derails-in-staffordshire/
For many years I've believed that HS2 is a terrible design which could and should have been so much better, but the objections to it have been even more of a joke and I'm not sorry to hear that the final camp has been removed.

Maybe I'm just an ageing cynic, but I'd compare HS2 with the Tory Party, ie there's a lot wrong with it, one hell of a lot, but there really isn't a credible alternative. Not since the poor choice of route was set in stone a good many years ago anyway.

I won't digress further here (unless invited!), but I'm always happy to exchange views on HS2, and despite the bad job that is, I nevertheless still approve of rail progress.
 

The Ham

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For many years I've believed that HS2 is a terrible design which could and should have been so much better, but the objections to it have been even more of a joke and I'm not sorry to hear that the final camp has been removed.

Maybe I'm just an ageing cynic, but I'd compare HS2 with the Tory Party, ie there's a lot wrong with it, one hell of a lot, but there really isn't a credible alternative. Not since the poor choice of route was set in stone a good many years ago anyway.

I won't digress further here (unless invited!), but I'm always happy to exchange views on HS2, and despite the bad job that is, I nevertheless still approve of rail progress.

As with all things there's a range of views, I often surprise people who are opposed to HS2 by agreeing that there's features which most certainly are bad about the design of HS2 (for example the provision of large car parks over providing bus connections, the cutting off the cycle route and the poor management, especially of those who are selling land).

However many of the objections are based on a narrative which is selective in its nature.

For example; it'll only save 20 minutes between London and Birmingham. Well that very much depends on where you're going between within each city; and is also a fairly London centric argument, as Southampton to Newcastle (when the Eastern Leg was due to be built) would have been about an hour faster, Reading Birmingham would have been a little faster but with 3tph rather than 2, etc.

Likewise until the pandemic rail growth between London and the West Midlands, Northwest and Scotland had all increased about 170% of the total in 2009, based on the predicted growth at opening of phase 1 (so still a few years away now) it was required to be at 150% of the 2009 total. Yet there was still lots saying that passenger numbers would never justify it. (Note, that inter regional travel was used as some said that rail growth was in part due to split ticketing and so this removed that argument).

Finally, that it'll never be carbon neutral. Again that depends on what's done with it with regards to wider policy. For instance it was assumed that 1 million of circa 30 million people using regional flights switched. Well with the right policy it could be that you could have now of the circa 7 million London/Central Belt flights which were happening swap to rail.

Indeed, some regional flights (Non London, the ones I've looked at are Southampton based, so to Manchester and Newcastle) could also be impacted. Now given that some are each way morning/evening it probably wouldn't take many switching to make such corridors unviable.
 

Shrop

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As with all things there's a range of views, I often surprise people who are opposed to HS2 by agreeing that there's features which most certainly are bad about the design of HS2 (for example the provision of large car parks over providing bus connections, the cutting off the cycle route and the poor management, especially of those who are selling land).

However many of the objections are based on a narrative which is selective in its nature.

For example; it'll only save 20 minutes between London and Birmingham. Well that very much depends on where you're going between within each city; and is also a fairly London centric argument, as Southampton to Newcastle (when the Eastern Leg was due to be built) would have been about an hour faster, Reading Birmingham would have been a little faster but with 3tph rather than 2, etc.
One of its most spectacular failings has to be that it only provides slightly quicker journeys along WCML routes whilst no longer providing the much more useful and far bigger time savings from Birmingham to Leeds etc. And what about the Northern Powerhouse uses for better rail links? HS2 should have achieved all of this in addition to just providing more capacity along already well served routes, but lo and behold, its the London end where the small benefits remain, while the northern end loses out (again) due to entirely predictable spiralling costs. Where is Levelling Up Sectetary on this one I wonder? Strangely quiet with his head in the sand as usual.
 
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AM9

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One of its most spectacular failings has to be that it only provides slightly quicker journeys along WCML routes whilst no longer providing the much more useful and far bigger time savings from Birmingham to Leeds etc. And what about the Northern Powerhouse uses for better rail links? HS2 should have achieved all of this in addition to just providing more capacity along already well served routes, but lo and behold, its the London end where the small benefits remain, while the northern end loses out (again) due to entirely predictable spiralling costs. Where is Levelling Up Sectetary on this one I wonder? Strangely quiet with his head in the sand as usual.
It's the London end of the WCML that was almost at saturation when the decision was made on the build programme of HS2. The Birmingham to Leeds arm of the line was axed by a government claiming to be 'Levelling Up'! So, right programme, wrong government. :rolleyes:
 

Shrop

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It's the London end of the WCML that was almost at saturation when the decision was made on the build programme of HS2. The Birmingham to Leeds arm of the line was axed by a government claiming to be 'Levelling Up'! So, right programme, wrong government. :rolleyes:
Yes, it was absolutely right to relieve capacity on WCML, but a route closer to the M1 corridor with a spur via Birmingham would have achieved that, whilst providing far more sensible links to Leicester, Nottingham, Sheffield and Leeds, before we even start on less environmental damage. The studies that decided the route were all about finding problems with the M1 route, and misguidedly serving Heathrow, rather than finding ways to best serve the country. Crossrail and Heathrow should have been a spur, not a route choice. So both wrong route AND wrong Government!
 

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