That no passive provision for this is being made is bonkers. Eurostar and various authorities are currently going to great lengths to start direct services to the Netherlands because apparently people are too lazy / scared / unwilling to change high-speed trains to the next platforms are Brussels, using cheap through tickets that they can buy from eurostar.com, yet it is constantly argued here that people will change stations (perhaps even walking down the street) to do the same with HS1-HS2.
The comparison between Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est and this is not 100% accurate because there are trains bypassing Paris between LGV Nord and Est. I doubt there are many passengers regularly schlepping down the steps or hill between them with luggage.
Between the Greater Manchester built up area and the West Midlands built up area there are 5 million people. A through connection would put them under 3 hours from the administrative capital of Europe or close to 3 hours for Paris. That this decision was made prior to the Brexit vote shows it was more about keeping London preeminent than actually designing a useful service.
I wish there was a way to like posts on this forum - I agree.
It's often stated there is a threshold after which air travel becomes preferable to high speed rail travel, I partly agree with this.
But these claims often discount some very important points:
- With rail travel you don't (usually) have to get there hours before like flying
- In the same time you could be waiting at an airport, you are already making progress by train
- You don't have a luggage restriction (weight or contents) it's how much you can carry
- There is free wi-fi (most of the time)
- You arrive in the centre of your destination rather than on the outskirts then having to find transport into the centre.
- Some people just don't like flying
- High speed rail is emission free at the point of use, if it's electric
Of course I am not suggesting you go via train to everywhere, but sometimes the convenience of not having to change makes a difference for people deciding to fly vs train.
For example, as much as I love Eurostar, I find it quite expensive and coming from outside London I have to change stations (albeit only from Euston to St. Pancras)
So I have to decide: do I want to take an hour and a bit train to Euston then walk to St. Pancras then 2 hours to Paris or do I want to fly for about an hour to CDG then catch a train into Paris.
I don't mind about the time it takes, for me it's price that makes the decision unfortunately. If I am with others or have luggage most of the time the plane wins due to convenience.
Not putting
any provision in for a future HS1-HS2 link is very short sighted in my opinion. We don't know what the future holds, demand forecasts are often wrong and travel patterns change.
A
North of London - OOC (Connections) - Stratford (as a second London stop) - Ebbsfleet/Ashford (for Kent) -
The Continent train sounds great.
Is it worth giving up valuable paths on HS2 for? Not sure, but it shouldn't be discounted.
If the french build the shortcut route LGV Picardie it would reduce the journey time to Paris even further.
Although Brexit will change things, we don't yet know to what extent. It might do the opposite and increase tourism to the UK.