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John   19/04/2013 at 10:54

What is it with this Euston Magnet? Everyone from the LNWR downwards realised that it was too small and operationally horrible. So why not scrap the inner London end and go back to where there is space and opportunity - Paddington and beyond and route the thing up the former GW / GC Corridor?? Oh and for good measure, Derby actually want HS2 whereas no-one else up in the East Midlands appears to, so why not let them have it and solve the M42 Corridor / East Midlands Airport / Parkway debacle?? Back to the drawing board methinks!!

Lesf   19/04/2013 at 13:58

Sanity at last! The total reconstruction and gross expansion of Euston never made sense, taking 10 years and involving a 40% reduction of platform space just when more was needed. Stations formed 25% of HS2 construction cost. PR talk of "great northern cities" and "residents concerns" are an obvious smoke screen over their realisation that the plan was bankrupt. I look forward to more road-to-Damascus moments by HS2 Ltd. We may yet get a new railway that actually makes sense.

JSW   19/04/2013 at 14:46

Revised Euston plan seems eminently sensible, and will hopefully preserve a worthwhile piece of 1960s architecture, often much vilified but which is perhaps coming be viewed more favourably. (Can we have the Doric Arch back though?) John is right that an alternative in the Paddington area might be considered. But a terminal in central London is needed and Paddington is not so well-connected tube-wise as Euston. I like John's point about Derby which could be served by a branch off HS2 using the existing Lichfield-Wichnor Junction route which could be upgraded. Trains would not have to go at 400km/h over this section and could stop at Burton on Trent. We'd still need the high-speed line to Leeds of course. Maybe we'd still need Toton Hub, though for connecting rail links a Trent Hub would clearly be better. It's fairly clear the planners of HS2 phase two are expecting a lot of people to drive to these hub stations, a fairly dodgy proposal environmentally and socially - will people still want to travel by car across congested counties to catch a train in 2033? The hub stations may be OK for people travel from (say) Nottingham or Derby to London but on the face of it they are economically counter-productive for these city-centres. At the Leeds end a better final route would follow the existing Midland line through Normanton, and really should end up at a station next to the existing Leeds City station, not half a mile away as currently planned. The Normanton routing would be slightly further and probably slightly speed-restricted but would allow a regional interchange station to be built where the line crosses the M62 motorway; such a station would have connections with a new regional service along the Calder Valley possibly linking Bradford, Halifax, Wakefield, Castleford and York. I share Lesf's hopes of more Road-to-Damascus moments. HS2 needs better regional connectivity which includes more stations. This will increase the cost but make the whole project much more attractive. As things stand HS2 looks like a really good idea made unpopular by ham-fisted planning. Let's build a railway that people want.

Nonsuchmike   09/09/2013 at 15:52

Maybe you are right and I have missed something in the detail along the line (sorry, pun not intended). My understanding was that all of the stops at each end and intermediate locations would be easily accessible by other short haul local and cross country trains. Otherwise, what environmental saving is there if thousands of commuters, albeit longhaul, drive to a station on their todd in a car? So I would suggest both a Derby and Nottm loops, with suitable stop at a greatly expanded (double up on the runways) East Midlands Airport, even if the M/C circuit has to relocate slightly. One loop can then serve Sheffield and Leeds, whilst the other can bypass both ready to link up with ECML to Edinburgh. We do need some serious joined up thinking on this project, but politicians are not always the ones to supply this.