‘Tis a short blog from me tonight. I’ve had a long day staring at screens editing pictures from the past few days. That’s taken up most of my time, although I must admit to enjoying having a day based at home where I’ve not got one eye on a railway timetable, checking that all my connections are running to time! With that pressure off me, I could very much suit myself when I did what. Well, apart from when the weather governed some choices such as taking my daily constitutional. For once, it hasn’t rained all day. Exactly the opposite, we actually had decent temperatures and sunshine this afternoon until the rain decided to reappear this evening when it came back with a vengeance. Talk about raining stair rods! I was starting to worry that the garden would be battered to pieces. Thankfully, the cloudburst passed before we got to that stage but we’ve certainly had a sizeable chunk of August’s rainfall arrive in the past couple of days – with more to come.
Still, tomorrow’s another day, so let’s see what it brings. Other than more rain, obviously! Whilst I’ve been typing this the last batch of pictures (for now) has uploaded to my Zenfolio website. Shots have been added to many different galleries, including railway stations, railway people, Chiltern Railways, the GWR franchise, Northern, TPE as well as East-West rail and of course – HS2. You can find the full list of updated galleries by clicking on the recent link.
For now I’ll leave you with the picture of the day, which was taken at Paddington station the other evening. The station roof looks magnificent when it’s lit up at night, as this view shows.
The time’s 22:45 and ‘Thames turbo’ 165122 rests at the buffer stops on platform 4, its days duties done until tomorrow.
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What a great start to the week! I’m (slowly) heading down to London today ready to be in place to meet up with a friend as the pair of us will be looking at some of the “unachievable” HS2 construction works.
Not being in any rush I got some work done at home first, hoping the grim weather here in the Calder Valley would pick up and save me a soaking on the walk to the station. It didn’t. As I was engrossed in a phone call en-route I hadn’t checked how trains were running. The answer is – badly – which I only found out when I got to the station and checked the PIS. Apparently, there’s an obstruction on the line West of Todmorden that’s blocked both tracks. Most trains are cancelled with a few running to Hebden Bridge or Todmorden where buses will take us the rest of the way. The obstruction (whatever it is) is predicted to disrupt services until 17:30. Ho hum!
I’ll let you know how I get on and where I get to. This is going to be a long day…
13:00.
Hmm, plan B…
Having arrived at Hebden Bridge I had the option of waiting for the replacement bus service which wasn’t leaving for another 20 mins, or leaping onto a rammed York- Blackpool North service as far as Preston although I’d originally planned to get on the WCML at Warrington using the direct service to Chester. The train won.
I’m now wedged in a vestibule along with suitcases, prams and parents with offspring all heading for the seaside. I don’t envy them – the forecast for this week is crap!
Passing through Accrington. It’s grim up North…
14:40.
I’m finally heading in the right direction! I left my Northern service at Preston – as did many others which surprised me as I assumed the majority of folks were heading for Blackpool. Services on the West Coast seem to be in some disarray but I’ve no idea why at the moment. This time I’m unaffected and after getting a few shots in torrential rain joined the 14:18 Avanti Pendolino to Euston via Birmingham. It’s packed! So much for ‘no-one’s travelling by train anymore’. I’m perched on a tip-up seat by the toilets in coach D, although the friendly crew have told me the train’s due to empty after Crewe.
Approaching Wigan North Western.
15:50.
We’re just pulling out of Wolverhampton en-route to Birmingham. The weather’s will improved insomuch that it’s stopped raining and cloud level’s gained a few hundred feet, but that’s it. I’ll be changing trains and lines at New Street with the optimistic hope of getting some pictures. Let’s see.
18:50.
Apologies for the gap in blogging but I’ve been wandering around Birmingham getting pictures and soaking up the atmosphere. I’ve confessed this before but I really like the city. Its multiculturalism makes it a fascinating place to shop or just people-watch. Of course I was there for another reason too – which was to cast my eye over the ‘unachievable’ (according to much of the lazy UK media) HS2 work where progress looks anything other than unachievable! I’ll add a pic later. The weather was crap and I got a right soaking wating for the right moment but my patience was rewarded.
Now I’m chasing the storm that soaked me, heading South on a Chiltern Railways service as far as an old haunt – Leamington Spa. I can’t go all the way to Marylebone as the line’s closed due to engineering works. Instead I’ll be travelling via Oxford and Reading through to Paddington.
19:30.
The observant amongst you may have spotted the slight flaw in my plan. There are no trains running South of Leamington Spa at all – not just Chiltern ones. The line’s closed all week, which means I haven’t escaped the dreaded bustitution. Instead, I’m kicking my heels on a coach which will be leaving for Didcot in 15 mins. It’ll take just over an hour to get there. Ho ho hum…
To be fair, it’s an interesting experience. The staff (both rail and coach) have been excellent and everyone’s trying to make it as painless an experince as they can.
The Didcot coach is in pole position…
20:15.
So, here we are. Eight of us from Leamington rattling around on a coach to Didcot. Trying to put a gloss on it – at least I’m seeing parts of Leamington and the M40 I wouldn’t normally! To be honest it’s a relaxed journey. I’m in no hurry yo get anywhere. The rain’s cleared, leaving a lovely evening (although not great light for photography right now) so I’ll see how things turn out later.
21:15.
That was painless! Our driver’s estimate of 1hr 15m proved to be conservative, traffic was lighter than expected so we made it to Didcot in just over an hour. I didn’t hang around, much as I’d liked to have done as I have fond memories of the place – but it’s the wrong time of the day. Instead, I boarded GWR’s 21:04 stopping service to Paddington, just to enjoy the views and reminisce. I used to spend a lot of time on this route when I lived in London, but it’s not so easy when you live in West Yorkshire.
As you can see, this time of day my shuttle train isn’t exactly busy. The annoying thing? These electric trains should have been working to Oxford, not terminating at Didcot, but a certain Tory transport Minister (Chris Grayling) cancelled the project mid-stream.
21:45.
I’m now on one of GWRs express services to Paddington worked by another of those ‘unachievable’ schemes – the IEP project (see yesterday’s blog). I was tempted to jump on a slower Crossrail train (wasn’t that also ranked as ‘unachievable’? Ed) but getting there earlier allows me leeway to get some pictures at a station I don’t visit often enough nowadays. Paddington was always one of my favourites but then I’m old enough to remember it in the days of Wester region diesel-hydraulic locos like the ‘Hymek’ and ‘Western’ classes hauling old composite coach sets with buffet cars. It’s not quite the same anymore.
00:30.
Time to draw this blog to a close. There’s lots to talk about but it’s late and today’s another day. I’ll leave you with three ‘unachievable’ things. I’ve done today. Well. if you believe the mainstream media!
Here’s the ‘unachievable’ HS2 station at Birmingham Curzon Street earlier today.Oh, this is the ‘unachievable’ Hitachi Class 800 that carried me from Reading to Paddington earlier. I also took a trip on the ‘unachievable’ Crossrail (aka ‘Lizzy line) from Paddington to Farringdon earlier.
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Today’s been another home based one here at Bigland Towers. I’d hoped the pair of us might have got out and about as Dee’s had the day off but it wasn’t to be as too many other things got in the way and time flew.
So I spent time on various household duties, work and watching the Tory party in London disintegrate on social media. The High Court threw out a challenge by five outer London boroughs (all Tory voting) to the Mayor of London’s extension to the ULEZ (Ultra Low Emissions Zone) from central London. Apparently, it’s OK to have a ULEZ in the central London boroughs where few people own a car, but woe betide a Labour Mayor who has the temerity to extend it to areas where the Tory voting middle classes who own multiple cars per family live. Don’t even ask how much this futile court challenge has cost taxpayers in the five Tory boroughs. Oh, and ignore the fact that ULEZ was originally planned by one Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson when he was London Mayor as that just doesn’t fit the narrative!
The Tories are desperate to make out that ULEZ disproportionately hits the poor (it doesn’t) which is quite a turn-up for the books as they’ve spent the past 13 years making the poor poorer. Still, there’s elections due in 2024 so they need every excuse they can grasp hold of. In London the Tories have selected an absolute no-hoper as their Mayoral candidate. Susan Hall was never anyone’s first choice but a succession of scandals meant it was Buggins turn. Said Buggins is a very right-wing, Brexit, Boris and Trump supporting individual who’s left a car crash all across social media – the ideal candidate for London Mayor (not). Nominating Hall as their London candidate is like nominating Enoch Powell as prospective MP for Golders Green. It just ain’t gonna happen! It’s no wonder the Tories are clinging on to ULEZ like shipwreck survivors to a lifebelt. There’s only one problem. ULEZ only affects 1 in 10 cars (and they have to be at least 17 years old) and that number’s dwindling all the time thanks to age and the Mayors scrappage scheme. By the time it comes to the Mayoral elections in May 2024 and the general election later that year this will be a non-issue.
Sad to say, but this whole episode brightened my day. Well, added to the fact the Ukrainians are making solid progress in ejecting the Russian invaders from their country, leading to even more internet tizzys by Russian trolls.
Now it’s time to wind down, ignore the world of geo and local politics and look forward to the weekend. So, I’ll leave you with a picture of the day which was inspired by a conversation I had earlier when I nipped up to our local pub to indulge in the Friday night quiz. Here are Dhows on the beach at Nungwi, Zanzibar on the 30th May 2001…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
This morning I woke up to some good news. The Tories had been routed in 2 of the three seats that were up for election yesterday. In the third (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) they had their majority slashed from 7,210 to just 495 votes. In Selby and Ainsty, where Labour won convincingly, they overturned a Tory majority of 21,357, the largest majority ever overturned by the Labour party in a by-election. In Somerton and Frome the winning Lib-Dem candidate overturned a Tory majority of 19,213 to win by 11,008 votes.
In both Selby and Frome the Green party (who came 3rd) did well. Especially in Somerton and Frome where the Greens Martin Dimery managed 3,944 votes or 10.2%, an increase of 5.1% on a reduced turnout out of 44.23% (down on the general election by 31.4%). This is double what the Greens poll nationally in opinion polls.
In Selby and Ansty the Greens Arnold Warneken received 1,838 votes, an increase of 1.9% to take them to 5.1% of the vote – consistent with the national average on a turnout that was down by 27.2% on the 2019 election.
In both elections the Greens held on to their deposits, another unusual outcome for the party.
Meanwhile, what happened to the Greens in Uxbridge, where their candidate (Sarah Green) stood on an anti HS2 ticket which was almost the sole focus of the Greens campaign? Here’s a look at the full Uxbridge results, taken from Wikipedia.
Interesting. There are several things worthy of note here. Firstly, the number of candidates. As this was a celebrity seat – being the one hastily abandoned by former PM Boris Johnson when he ran away before being censure by Parliament it was always going to attract the mad, bad and sad, from the Raving Looney’s, the failed actor and odious right-winger Laurence Fox, to Piers Corbyn and a rag bag of other no-hope independents, all of whom would attract a few votes. However, the turnout (whilst down) was nowhere near as low as in the other two byelections – only 17.3% compared to 27.2% and 31.4%.
As in the other byelections, the Greens came 3rd, but with a very different look – just 2.9%, well below the national polling average and and with a tiny increase of just 0.7% Yet Sarah Green was standing on what is meant to be a sure-fire ticket – an anti HS2 platform in a Nimby constituency that supposedly is in wholesale opposition to HS2. Unless, of course – it isn’t – and people have other fish to fry?
Green attracted 893 votes (and lost her deposit). The Lib-Dems vote dropped by 4.6% from 3026 in 2019 to 526 – solid evidence of tactical voting to oust the Tories as Labour’s vote increased by 6%. Labour ascribe their failure to capture the seat to London’s ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone) which is hitting motorists pockets. In a breathtaking example of their hypocrisy, the Tories are saying their win is a referendum on ULEZ, neatly forgetting that it was brought in by a previous Mayor of London and former Uxbridge MP – one Boris Johnson! It’s also Tory party policy. In fact, in 2020 then Transport Secretary Grant Shapps wanted London’s Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan to extend the capital’s congestion charge zone as far as the ULEZ boundary (link). Still, what does the truth matter when there’s a crucial byelection to win? T’was ever thus with the Tories.
Another thing to to note is that there were two candidates standing on an anti ULEZ ticket. Between them they garnered 394 votes. It’s reasonable to assume most of these would have been Tory votes in the past.
Meanwhile, back at the Green party…
It’s clear Sarah Green didn’t stand a chance but then Hillingdon green party has a history of fielding no-hope candidates on anti HS2 tickets who do nothing to enhance the party’s reputation (see Mark Keir). But, just imagine what would have happened if the Greens had decided not to run a candidate this time? How many of those 894 votes would have gone to Labour and potentially swung the election? This would have fulfilled the wider green party agenda as it’s clear the Tories are anything but climate-friendly!
Here’s why the GPEW aren’t fit for purpose. They’re not a coherent political party but a rag-bag of local groups with no party discipline and no strategy. They’re little more than incoherent protest groups, campaigning on whatever bee’s in their bonnets, or blowing in the wind to local Nimby issues like opposing wind-farms. Actually tackling climate change takes a backseat.
It’s clear from recent local election results that Greens standing on an anti HS2 ticket isn’t doing the party any good (see this blog). Let’s face it – a ‘green’ party actively opposing us building low-carbon public transport whilst saying they support building a new high-speed N-S railway ‘in principle’ just makes them look like a bunch of hypocrites – and voters see that. But the party’s structured in such a way it’s impossible for the ‘leaders’ to lead, so the party’s stuck – and some of the grassroots like it that way. In the meantime, we’ve just seen Hillingdon ‘green’ party enable a Tory victory in Uxbridge and embolden the right-wing opposition to clean air in London. Oh, the irony! I’m not the only one who’s noticed that either. Joss Garman, Executive Director of the European Climate Foundation tweeted this earlier…
The really dumb thing? The ‘greens’ never stood any chance of winning nor of stopping HS2. This was yet another wasted opportunity to actually do something positive to help change politics in the UK that would further their supposed real aim of tackling climate change. But as I’ve been saying for a long time, they literally can’t see the woods for the trees…
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And relax! I’ve has a busy morning working ‘cross-border’ for the new Community Rail Partnership (CRP) in the Calder valley – which meant two separate gigs – one at Rochdale and another at Halifax. The idea was to launch the new CRP and the excellent route guide that it’s published which details the attractions and amenities along the line.
The first gig took place at the restored Rochdale station subway where a disused area has been converted into a community garden with some solid (very solid!) wooden planters and seats. It’s a great space that could be used for all sorts of events in the future. There’s also some fabulous artwork from a local artist that hides some of the more bare areas opposite. I’ll post more pictures later but here’s a few phone pics for now.
The event was well attended and a great success. The line guide was given out to passers-by along with some tasty cupcakes.
After a couple of hours we moved on by train across the Pennines to Halifax. We didn’t have a garden but we did have a rock band! Students from Calderdale college came along to belt out some number outside the station building whilst yet more cupcakes and route guides were distributed.
Job over earlier than expected (hence the title of this blog) I’m now on my way south again, this time heading for Surrey for a weekend with Dawn (who drove down yesterday) to house-sit with her, niece and nephew whilst her brother’s away. The weather in the Pennines was warm but the degrees move up for every few dozen miles I move South. We’ve just left Peterborough and I can feel the heat of the sun through the window.
18:35.
I’ve covered some ground! I’m now on my way from Woking to Farnham after crossing London care of Thameslink and with photographic stops at London Bridge and Waterloo East (pics later). The weather here in the South is certainly a lot warmer than ‘oop North’ and I feel distinctly over-dressed wearing brogues and Chinos – even though I’ve ditched the shirt for a singlet. I’m looking forward to sunning myself in the garden for an hour or so – or perhaps a quick pint outside the local pub…
One random observation from today is this is the second train I’ve been on today where the guard has been both female and foreign! The young lady on my Northern service to Leeds was of American origin whilst (judging by her voice over the PA) the conductor on this South-Western Railway train is French. It’s lovely to see/hear the railways becoming more diverse.
21:45.
And finally…
I’m now ensconced in Tilford and semi-relaxing as I begin the process of editing todays pictures si I’m going to bring this blog to an end with a trio of images from the capital.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
I’m still in London and the South-East today but the tempo is rather different. I’ve another event to attend today but this one doesn’t involve a funeral. It’s a press lunch hosted by Siemens, but first I’m off doing some more research (and hopefully getting a few pictures) with my community rail hat on and heading back to the Darent valley line first. Right now I’m sat on a SouthEastern service heading for Sevenoaks to start my explorations. Sadly, the weather isn’t playing ball and the sunshine that was promised earlier in the week has yet to materialise. As usual, I’ll be blogging on and off throughout the day so feel free to pop back and see what I’ve been up to.
11:10.
Having arrived at Sevenoaks I had time to grab a few quick shots before catching a Thameslink service up the Darent valley to extend yesterday’s explorations. First stop was Eynesford. The station still boasts an attractive and rather substantial station building which contains a refurbished ticket office and waiting room with an original fireplace as well as a lovely wooden waiting shelter on the opposite (Swanley bound) platform. I’ll be popping back when the weather’s right to get more shots in the area as there’s a very attractive viaduct nearby. Next stop was one step – or I should say stop – back at Shoreham.
Shoreham station. Sadly, this building is currently disused, unlike the others on the line.
14:15.
There will now be a short interlude..
20:00.
OK, that was anything *but* a short interlude! The press lunch started at 13:00 and was officially meant to finish at 15:00 but ran on for so long some journo’s nearly missed their trains home! To add to the fun the dull weather we’d had earlier in the day had evaporated and those of us sat on the window side of the table began to develop a rather nice tan! Joking aside, it was great to catch up with so many of Siemens senior management team and talk about the various projects the company is involved with here in the UK. The event was held in Shoreditch which is one of my old stomping grounds from the 1980s-90s – and how it’s changed!
Afterwards I retraced my steps across London via the Overground to Clapham in order to make the most of the weather and get a few more library shots. Sadly, the vegetation that’s sprung up around the station throat has made some shots almost impossible nowadays so I cut my losses and headed back across the city to begin my journey home. A phone call earlier today has completely altered my plans for the rest of the week as I now have a commission up in Lancashire/Yorkshire on Friday when I’d planned to be down in Surrey. Still, it should make for more grist to the blogging mill.
Right now I’m typing this from LNERs 18:33 from Kings Cross to Leeds. The fantastic weather we’ve enjoyed lasted as far as Lincolnshire, when clouds rolled in from the North to re-establish the gloom which is a bit of a bugger as I’m wearing the wrong clothes again!
Sadly, I can’t upload any more pictures from the day at the moment, but I will later. Right now I’m going to spend the rest of the journey preparing them.
22:30.
I’m now home and tucked up in the warm back at Bigland Towers. We might be having gloriously sunny days but there’s still a nip in the air mornings and evenings so I can’t wait for those balmy summer nights to arrive. I’ve a busy few days ahead of me so I’m going to call it a day by leaving you with a couple of pictures I edited on the train.
BR built Class 465 number 465027 pulls into London Bridge with a service to Belvedere. Spot the pigeon…Another (even older) BR built unit which is enjoying an extended life due to the problems with the new Class 701 trains which were meant to have replaced it years ago is Class 455 number 5864 operated by South Western Railway. It’s seen here approaching Clapham Junction with a much-changed London skyline beyond.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
After a last glorious day of sunshine in the Calder valley which I spent working and pottering around at home I’m heading South again. The walk to the station was distinctly chilly due to low cloud and a slight breeze knocking the temperature down to where it was struggling to stay in double figures. That wouldn’t have been a problem except for the fact i’m travelling light (OK, OK – I know the camera bag’s anything but light!) so I’m dressed for the temperatures I’m expecting to find in Kent.
Right now I’m on Northern’s 07:54 to Leeds which is full and standing after leaving Halifax – despite being a 3-car.
Hopefully, I might get a seat after Bradford. I’ll be blogging through the day (with the occasional interruption so feel free to pop back and see what I get up to…
08:12.
My hope of getting a seat was dashed at Bradford by the fact only a couple of folks got off but dozens joined us! Looking around it seems this train’s popular with both commuters and students, hence it being rammed.
09:50.
I’m now speeding South aboard an LNER service from London to Leeds consisting of two 5-car ‘Azuma’ sets on what must be the quietest Intercity train I’ve been on for ages. I’m in the rear seat with a handful of people (maybe a dozen) in each car. It’s a heck of a contrast to the Northern set I was on previously! So far, the sunshine I’ve dressed for has failed to show its face even though we’ve already hit Cambridgeshire..
10:25.
We’re currently hunting through Huntingdon! I’m sat over the rear bogie in coach B of the rear 5-car set and the oscillations are so bad at speed I’ve had to stop using my computer mouse! The motion started when we reached over 120mph after our stop at Peterborough and they’ve continued on and off ever since. I’ve never known an Azuma ride this badly.
13:50.
Apologies for the gap but I’ve been busy travelling and note-taking. After arriving at Kings Cross I made a beeline for Thameslink at St Pancras where I caught a train to London Bridge for my onward connection to Swanley. I was there to catch another service down the Darent valley line to Sevenoaks. The route’s a community rail partnership (CRP) and the subject of my ‘recce’. I’ve not traversed the route for several years so needed to check it out for a feature – including the fabulous restored station at Bat and Ball. This now boasts community rooms, historic displays and a lovely cafe.
I can recommend the freshly made sandwiches, and at 2.95 they’re a steal!
The station has an interesting history. Ever wondered how it got its name?
Now I’m on my way to a more somber event, although it will be the celebration of the man’s life and legacy. Brian Morrison’s funeral.
01:30.
Sorry folks, it’s been a long day and the rest of what happened will have to be in tomorrow’s blog as I head home for 24 hours(ish). In the meantime I’ll leave you with this final picture.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
On Monday the Public Accounts Committee of MPs took oral evidence on the pause of HS2 construction at Euston station. Anyone expecting any real answers as to how we got to this sorry state will have been sadly disappointed at the session as it was more the ‘dunno’ show than generating any real insights. It was also curious for what was not said or discussed as much as what was.
For some reason the Committee decided to focus exclusively on Euston station itself and ignore another vital piece of that jigsaw. The Euston tunnels, which are essentially separate to the station but they’ve been paused too – as has construction of phase 2a from Handsacre Junction North of Birmingham as far as Crewe.
Now, Euston station is undoubtedly a mess but that’s no reason to postpone building the Euston approach tunnels. Plus, the tunnels are ‘critical path’ work. Without the TBMs for the Euston tunnels being launched from the Old Oak Common station box you can kiss goodbye to opening the HS2 station at Old Oak that’s now being talked about as a ‘temporary terminus’ for HS2 in London. Plus, if you don’t build the tunnels you won’t be running any HS2 trains into Euston – whatever final design’s cooked up!
The PAC session was billed as asking “how the risks to value for money are being managed” yet the session was all about the money and not about the value. We got bogged down in the minutiae of how much it would cost to secure the Euston site (even talking about hoardings) but nothing about the REAL value of money questions – such as how much the delays to building Euston would affect railway capacity and passenger usage of the truncated HS2 line to Old Oak Common. Nor was anything asked about the environmental costs of delaying HS2 – which are also financial – or the economic impact on ‘levelling up’.
Instead, what we heard from Dame Bernadette Kelly (Perm Sec at DfT), Alan Over (DG of High Speed Rail Group and SRO for HS2 at DfT) and Mark Thurston (Chief Exec at HS2 Ltd) was a sorry tale of government delay and dither and what happens when you let a Committee design something. Think of the problems with the Great Western Main Line electrification where everyone sticks their ‘pennorth’ into the specification so the costs keep rising.
Reading between the lines of what was being said at the Committee, this is what happened at Euston. Costs kept rising as Government changed its mind on the size of the oversite development (which impacted on the rail design), a new ‘partnership’ was established which added other priorities and considerations and the whole thing grew so that the agreed 2019 budget hopelessly was unrealistic when the wish-list was presented to the construction team who were meant to wrap it all up into a final, costed design that they could build.
I suppose you could describe it like this. You want your dream kitchen so you and all your family set an unrealistic budget, then you pore over an out of date catalogue whilst accepting suggestions from your neighbors and relatives on what’s needed. Then you call the builder. The builder weighs everything up, itemises it, sucks his teeth and tells you exactly how much that little lot will cost in the real world today.
Now, I have sympathy with the idea that Euston had to be paused. It’s clear the existing wish list (I won’t grace it with the name of ‘plan’) was far too expensive and that the dither and delays had added to the costs. Remember, Euston was originally expected to open at the end of 2026 with the rest of phase – despite what Kelly and Merriman have previously claimed, which I dealt with here. Plus, in the original plan we were going to get more (11 platforms) for less money. As we’re now 1/3 of the way through 2023 and there’s still no viable plan and in the intervening time we’ve seen rampant inflation, cost pressures due to Covid, the Ukraine war and Brexit so it’s hardly surprising costs have increased.
Some of this was touched on at the hearing, some of it wasn’t. Was was studiously ignored was the Government’s involvement in this expensive fiasco. Obviously, the witnesses were going to have to tread carefully (if you’re a civil servant criticising this Government can be very bad for your career) but not all the PAC members were Tories and could have asked awkward questions. The bizarre thing is none did. The nearest we got was Labour’s Nick Smith MP, who did ask some direct open questions and didn’t take fuzzy replies as an answer. But otherwise, it was a very poor show. Many questions were asked about ‘exactly’ how much the shutdown was going to cost and all three witnesses gave the same answer – ‘dunno’ – because no-one’s worked it out yet! The decision was only taken around 4 weeks ago and no-one’s looked at all the implications and crunched the numbers – which makes the Transport Minister Mark Harper’s initial claim that this was being done to ‘save’ money look even more ridiculous.
Mark Thurston did shed some light on what happens next. £2bn has been spent on the Euston area since the project began in what he describes as ‘no regrets’ investment (meaning its needed whatever the new station plans are). This includes all the preparatory and enabling work, all the works in the surrounding areas (like building new homes) and the work to the London Underground. A further £220 million will be spent on completing the TfL vent shaft and substation, the new construction skills centre and the station facilities block. This work will run to the autumn when the Euston station site will be secured and shut down. Ctte Chair Dame Meg Hillier questioned how long this would mean the site would be shut down as the timescale Thurston was suggesting was less than 2 years, or was it? Thurston explained that he expected the site to reopen in Spring 2025.
Alan Over did make two things clear in response to questions. One was that there’s no way the savings being asked for can be made without cutting the ‘wish list’ that’s been included in the final Euston design that the builders costed (which came in at £4.8bn) . the other was that, depending on what final ‘wish list’ is agreed by all parties, the Government may need to cough up some more money.
After 2 hours of being none the wiser on costs or timetables and with not having asked any of the really big question on value (never mind costs) the Ctte wound up. I can only hope they return to these matters having thought about the ‘big picture’ stuff and the real implications of the delays to HS2 and don’t get bogged down in the minutiae of mothballing building sites, but I won’t hold my breath…
Looking down on the Euston HS2 construction site in October 2021 at the bit no-one at the PAC talked about. The Euston tunnels…
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Yesterday HS2 Ltd announced that they’d launched yet another Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) but this one had a couple of important differences to the five that are already in service.
Launched from the Atlas Rd construction site in North London by the Skanska Costain STRABAG joint venture (SCS JV), ‘Lydia’ is an upcycled TBM formerly known as ‘Ellie’. The TBM dug two sections of the Crossrail tunnels in the Capital – from Limmo Peninsula in Canning Town to Royal Victoria Dock, and between Pudding Mill Lane and Stepney Green completing a total of 2.23 miles.
Made redundant from that task the Shield head and cutting wheel along with other components were refurbished by the builder Herrenknecht. The 847m long TBM will now spend the next six months driving an 853 metre long tunnel to the Old Oak Common construction site. The TBM has an 6.2 metre internal diameter. Starting drilling at a depth of 5 metres below ground it will reach a maximum depth of 20 metres. 4,264 concrete segments will be used, forming 533 tunnel rings. The segments, each weighing over 3 tonnes, have been produced by Pacadar in Kent.
The new service tunnel will have two uses. The first is to be fitted with a conveyor belt that will connect with an existing conveyor at the Atlas Rd site to transport spoil to the HS2 London Logistics Hub at Willesden Euro Terminal where the spoil will be moved onwards to sites in Kent, Cambridgeshire (Foxton) and Rugby by rail. The second use will be to transport 8,010 tunnel segment rings to construct the HS2 tunnels from Old Oak Common to Euston. These segment rings are being manufactured by STRABAG in Hartlepool. Both sets of segments will be moved to sites by rail. HS2 Ltd estimate that the new service tunnel will save 70,000 lorry journeys being added to London’s roads. It’s an impressive commitment to making HS2 construction as green as possible, using rail and on-site services as much as possible to minimise disruption elsewhere.
The significance of this is that construction of the HS2 tunnels from Old Oak Common to Euston is still proceeding as planned – despite the delay to building Euston station itself. Let’s face it, if you’re not going to build Euston, you’re not going to need to build the expensive Euston tunnels!
Workers checking over ‘Lydia’ before yesterdays launch (pic c/o HS2 Ltd).
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Time to enjoy a coffee as I pack the final items I’ll be needing these next few months, enjoy a last breakfast and quality time with Dawn, then head off. Fingers crosses that there’s no problems on the trains. The good news is that I’ve looked up real-time information on my train and the empty stock to form Grand Central’s 10:40 from Halifax to London has left the depot which is always a good start! I’ll be posting throughout the day so feel free to pop back and see how my journey goes…
10:50.
I’m on my way! The weather here in West Yorkshire’s bloody awful – it’s been raining all morning leaving many roads flooded or resembling waterfalls. Dawn drove me to the station for a tearful farewell on the platform as she waved me bon voyage. It’s a shame Dee couldn’t have come with me – even if it was for part of the trip – but there’s where freelance life has its advantages. I’ll miss her wide-eyed enthusiasm and exclamations ‘oh, wow’ when it comes to seeing new sights.
Right now I’m on Grand Central’s 10:40 to London Kings Cross. It’s bizarre, but this is the first train I’ve been on in 2023! The only time that normally happens is if I’m already abroad for New Year, this time it’s been down to the strikes and preparations for this trip. My train’s busy, but I have a seat in 1st Class and (for now) a table bay to myself which has allowed me to set up the mobile office and get some work done.
On my way…
12:00.
After the usual stagger around the West Yorkshire backwaters and exotic places like ‘Pontycarlo’ (aka Pontefract) we’ve finally reached the East Coast Main Line and Doncaster, where dozens of people are joining what’s already a busy train. Standard class is rammed and First Class loadings are now healthy too.
12:30.
We suffered a minor delay at Doncaster but now we’re speeding South at line speed with the expectation of making up time. The weather’s a little better now as the rain’s stopped and the sun is making a valiant effort to break through the clouds but the amount of standing water in the fields, overflowing streams and swollen rivers betray the fact it’s been a very wet year so far. Cloud level remains very low but there’s now a multitude of shades and shapes of grey as differing formations have taken over from the thick ceiling of dullness we had earlier.
13:00.
We’re now the right side of Peterborough and cruising rather than speeding South, just 5 minutes behind time. I’m assuming we’re stuck behind slower services like Thameslink. I’m not too bothered as I’ve time in the bank – my flight doesn’t leave Heathrow’s terminal 4 until 18:15 which gives me plenty of time to get there on the tube rather than the much more expensive Heathrow Express. Plus, I’ve credit on Oystercards, so that leg of the trip won’t cost me anything. You can tell I’ve been living in Yorkshire for a while, can’t you!
14:10.
Part 1 of the trip’s complete and it was the one I was most edgy about as rail reliability hasn’t exactly been at its best recently. I was lucky with my GC service. The unit sprung a leak through one of its windscreens. Fortunately, it was in the trailling cab, not the leading cab, otherwiseit might have been a much more stressful story!
Made it to Kings Cross…
I didn’t hang around at Kings Cross. Instead I made a beeline for the Piccadilly line and stepped straight onto a train heading for Heathrow Terminal 4. Now I can start to relax a bit! The tube is quiet so there’s no problem with getting a seat.
Next stop – Heathrow…
16:10.
And – relax! The trip to Heathrow was hassle-free. Terminal 4 is pretty quiet so checking-in was a doddle with no queues. Even security was a breeze and for once my camera bag didn’t attract any attention at all. Now I’m airside. Having wandered up and down the terminal I’ve managed to notch up a few steps and explore. There’s not really much here at all apart from the usual posh but empty shops selling designer gear which are staffed by bored looking young women, the obligatory WH Smiths (closed, of course) and a trio of expensive cafe/bars. The plus side is there’s plenty of seating available and even a viewing gallery, although that’s of limited use as it’s dusk – and it’s raining. I’m sat outside the best of the three cafes, nursing an expensive pint and catching up on some emails whilst I’m still in the same time zone.
Heathrow T4. Not exactly buzzing…
17:00.
My gate’s been announced so now it’s time to hunker down, top up my phone at the handy free charging station and wait. My plane’s a Boeing 777-300 and I’ve a window seat for the 7 hour flight to Doha so I might get some rest. My fellow passengers are a rainbow of ethnic groups and nationalities with (thankfully) few young children in sight!
17:40.
All aboard! Well, not all – that may take a while yet but I’m ensconced in seat 37K and settling in out of the way of the chaos. See you tomorrow…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Paul Bigland 