What, in your opinion, could this government (or the next Labour government) do to enable 21st century transport infrastructure to be built across the country (north to south, and east to west)?
Go back to the drawing board - look at what we need.
A stronger E-W connection - we need one of those fancy drilling machines they buried after Crosstalk and it can dig road and rail tunnels through the Pennines east of Manchester (if you look on the map everything just peters out or has to go up and around). That gives quite and direct links through to the A1 and you can then have a high speed line between Hull and Liverpool (which will cut out a lot of freighter traffic having to go round).
It was always important that our high speed network connected with Europe’s in order to cut flights but the end of HS2 comes into the wing side of London. You really want a high speed rail line down the east coast up to Edinburgh and across to Glasgow that continues on to the Channel Tunnel.
You could then put in other lines - Glasgow to Crewe to Birmingham to Bristol and the SW. Cardiff to London. If you must you could then link Birmingham to London but you are only shaving minutes off the journey at that point.
You then end up with a high speed east coast line, a west coast line and Scottish, north and south cross lines. Along with improved road links under the Pennines.
We used to have a stronger E-W connection, the Woodhead line. It was even electrified before being finally closed, the track lifted, and the tunnels filled in.
Go back to the drawing board - look at what we need.
A stronger E-W connection - we need one of those fancy drilling machines they buried after Crosstalk and it can dig road and rail tunnels through the Pennines east of Manchester (if you look on the map everything just peters out or has to go up and around). That gives quite and direct links through to the A1 and you can then have a high speed line between Hull and Liverpool (which will cut out a lot of freighter traffic having to go round).
It was always important that our high speed network connected with Europe’s in order to cut flights but the end of HS2 comes into the wing side of London. You really want a high speed rail line down the east coast up to Edinburgh and across to Glasgow that continues on to the Channel Tunnel.
You could then put in other lines - Glasgow to Crewe to Birmingham to Bristol and the SW. Cardiff to London. If you must you could then link Birmingham to London but you are only shaving minutes off the journey at that point.
You then end up with a high speed east coast line, a west coast line and Scottish, north and south cross lines. Along with improved road links under the Pennines.
We used to have a stronger E-W connection, the Woodhead line. It was even electrified before being finally closed, the track lifted, and the tunnels filled in.