• About

Paul Bigland

~ Blogging on transport, travel & whatever takes my fancy.

Paul Bigland

Category Archives: Virgin Trains

Yet another nail in the anti Hs2 campaigns coffin

29 Friday May 2015

Posted by Paul Bigland in Anti Hs2 mob, Hs2, Virgin Trains, WCML

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Anti Hs2 mob, Hs2, Virgin Trains, WCML

One of the most laughable aspects of the anti Hs2 campaign is the way antis try & pretend there’s no capacity argument for building Hs2. They do this by focusing exclusively on peak time Virgin trains services out of Euston & ignore everything else such as inter regional & local services, freight, or capacity constraints at other major stations on the routes Hs2 will relieve. These ‘look over there’ tactics fool a few observers but anyone with any knowledge or experience of the railways isn’t fooled.

A few are even stupid enough to try & pretend passenger numbers are falling. Like this one;

Docorb

Such idiotic claims fly in the face of fact – as the latest statistics from ORR (released in March 2015) so clearly show:

ORR

What’s also significant is the even larger rise in long distance passenger kilometres (The number of kilometres travelled by passengers on the network).

ORR 3

This isn’t an isolated rise either. The last ORR release for Quarter 2 noted record numbers then too:

ORR 2

Then long distance passenger Km’s rose by 5.5%

Click to access passenger-rail-usage-quality-report-2014-15-q2.pdf

Of course these are only the long distance figures. There’s sustained growth across all the other sectors too. Hs2 antis deliberately ignore them but it’s obvious they have an impact on mainline capacity as they use all the main stations that long distance services like Virgin West Coast do!

Another nail in their coffin is an interview with Virgin Trains West Coast Executive Director (Ops), Phil Bearpark which has been published in the Railway Gazette.

This mentions that Virgin have enjoyed ‘linear’ growth since the introduction of the 2007 VHF timetable. So much so that passenger journeys reached 34.5m in 2014-15. Bearpark told RG that “if numbers continue to rise at the same rate, then in 2026, when Hs2 starts, it is our intention that we’ll have got to 50 million passengers by then through year-on-year growth” In Bearpark’s words. This “was the business case for hs2”

Of course, this is just the WCML. Hs2 also releases capacity on the East Coast and Midland main lines, which are also experiencing a growth in traffic & capacity constraints.

With the economy picking up & the UK population projected to hit 70 million by 2027 (the year after Hs2 phase 1 opens ) & 73.2 million by 2035 (two years after phase 2) there’s no reason at all to believe Bearpark’s projections are optimistic . Well, not unless you’re an Hs2 anti in denial of course!

Recent Posts

  • Back to blogging…
  • Into the valley…
  • 14th April picture of the day…
  • 13th April picture of the day…
  • The truth about Jones’ Hill woods and Roald Dahl that you won’t hear from anti HS2 protesters…

Recent Comments

robertday154 on Into the valley…
Paul Bigland on Lockdown. Day 59 (Thursda…
Stephen Brown on Lockdown. Day 59 (Thursda…
James on The truth about Jones’ H…
CJ on The truth about Jones’ H…

Archives

  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • June 2013

Categories

  • 'Green' madness
  • 'Think Tanks'
  • 144e
  • 2005 London bombing
  • 2017 General election
  • 3 peaks by rail
  • 3 Peaks by ral
  • 51M
  • 7/7
  • Abandoned railways
  • Abu Dhabi
  • ACoRP
  • Adam Smith Institute
  • Adrian Quine
  • Advertising
  • Air Travel
  • Aircraft
  • Airports
  • Airshows
  • Allan Cook
  • Amsterdam
  • Andrea Leadsom MP
  • Andrew Gilligan
  • Andrew Haylen
  • Andy Burnham MP
  • Anti Hs2 mob
  • AONBs
  • Arambol
  • Architecture
  • Australia
  • Bali
  • Bangkok
  • Bank holidays
  • Barrow Hill
  • Belgium
  • Bigotry
  • Birmingham
  • Blue passports
  • Boris Johnson MP
  • Brexit
  • Brighouse
  • Brighton
  • British Railways
  • Calder Valley
  • Canals
  • Carillion
  • Censorship
  • Charities
  • Cheryl Gillan MP
  • Cheshire
  • China
  • Chris Packham
  • Claire Perry MP
  • Class 313
  • Class 314s
  • Class 455
  • Class 507
  • Class 508
  • Class 60s
  • Class 91
  • Communications
  • Community
  • Community rail
  • Corbynwatch
  • Coronavirus
  • CP5
  • Crap journalism
  • Crazy anti Hs2 campaigner of the week
  • Crazy kippers
  • Crewe Hub
  • Cuba
  • Customs
  • Cyberattacks
  • Cycle India
  • Cycling
  • Dawn
  • Democracy
  • Desiro City
  • Diary
  • Dispatches
  • Donald Trump
  • Doomed
  • Down memory lane
  • East Midlands Railway franchise
  • East Midlands Trains
  • Easter fairy stories
  • ECML
  • Economic illiteracy
  • Economics
  • election2015
  • Engineering
  • Environment
  • Eurostar
  • Euston
  • Extinction Rebellion
  • Fake News
  • Festivals
  • Flooding
  • Flora and Fauna
  • Food
  • Food and drink
  • Foot in mouth
  • Gardening
  • GBRf
  • General election
  • General election 2019
  • Georgetown
  • Germany
  • Glossop
  • GNGE
  • GNRP
  • Goa
  • Grand Central trains
  • Great Western Railway
  • Greater Anglia franchise
  • Green madness
  • Green Party
  • Gt Missenden
  • GTR
  • Guido Fawkes
  • GWML
  • GWR franchise
  • Gwyll Jones
  • Halifax
  • Harvil Rd Hs2 protest
  • Harz railway
  • Heathrow 3rd runway
  • High Speed 1
  • High Speed UK
  • History
  • Hitachi
  • Hong Kong
  • House of Lords
  • HS North
  • Hs2
  • Hs2 Bow Group
  • Hs2 petitions
  • Hs2 to Crewe
  • Hs2aa
  • HS2Rebellion
  • HSUK
  • Huddersfield
  • Humour
  • Hurricane Ophelia
  • I love my job
  • Imperial College London
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Infrarail
  • Innotrans
  • Internet
  • Ireland
  • Islamophobia
  • Jacob Rees Mogg
  • Jeremy Corbyn
  • Jeremy Corbyn MP
  • Jo Johnson MP
  • Joe Rukin
  • John McDonnell MP
  • Johnathan Bartley
  • Journalism
  • Labour election
  • Lancashire
  • Laos
  • Law and order
  • Lazy journalism
  • Leicestershire
  • Liam Halligan
  • libel
  • Lilian Greenwood MP
  • Liverpool
  • LNER
  • Local elections
  • Local elections 2018
  • Lockdown
  • London
  • Lord Berkeley
  • LRT
  • M62 motorway
  • Major Projects Authority
  • Malaysia
  • Manchester
  • Manchester Airport
  • Manchester Victoria
  • MAPA
  • Mark Keir
  • Martin Tett
  • Melton Mowbray
  • Memory Lane
  • Merseyside
  • Michael Dugher MP
  • Michael Fabricant MP
  • Mid Cheshire against Hs2
  • Miscellany
  • Modern Railways
  • Monorails
  • Musings
  • Mytholmroyd
  • Natalie Bennett
  • National Rail Awards
  • National Trust
  • Nepal
  • Network Rail
  • Never a dull life
  • New Economics Foundation
  • New trains
  • New Year
  • New York
  • New Zealand
  • NHS
  • Nigel Farage
  • Norland scarecrow festival
  • Northern Powerhouse
  • Northern Rail
  • Nostalgia
  • Nottingham
  • Obituaries
  • Old Oak Common
  • ORR
  • Our cat, Jet
  • Pacers
  • Paris terror attack
  • Parliament
  • Pasenger Growth
  • Patrick McLouglin MP
  • Penny Gaines
  • Peter Jones
  • Peterborough
  • Photography
  • Photojournalism
  • Picture of the day
  • Poetry
  • Politics
  • Porterbrook
  • PR nightmares
  • Protest
  • Pubs
  • rail ale
  • Rail electrification
  • Rail fares
  • Rail Investment
  • RAIL magazine
  • Rail Moderinsation
  • Rail PR
  • Railfreight
  • Railstaff awards
  • Railtex
  • Railway Benefit Fund (RBF)
  • Railways
  • Rant
  • Religion
  • RFEM
  • Richard Wellings
  • Ride India
  • Road accidents
  • Rolling blogs
  • ROSCOs
  • Royal Mail
  • Royal Wedding 2018
  • RSPB
  • Rugby Observer
  • Rushbearing
  • SAIP
  • Scores on the doors
  • Scotland
  • Scotrail
  • Sheffield
  • Shrewsbury
  • Siemens
  • Signalling
  • Silly season
  • Simon Heffer
  • Singapore
  • Sleeper trains
  • Snail mail
  • Social media
  • South West Trains
  • Southport
  • Sowerby Bridge
  • Spectator magazine
  • Sri Lanka
  • St Pancras station
  • Stafford
  • Stamford
  • Station buffets
  • StopHs2
  • Surrey
  • Talgo
  • Teresa May
  • Terrorism
  • Tesla
  • Thailand
  • Thameslink
  • The 'Beast from the East'
  • The BBC
  • The Big 6
  • The Daily Express
  • The fog
  • The Grauniad
  • The Great Central railway
  • The Green Party
  • The Independent
  • The Moorcock Inn
  • The Railway Children
  • The Rodelblitz
  • The USA
  • The Woodland Trust
  • Tilford
  • Torquay
  • Tourism
  • TPE
  • Traffic congestion
  • Trams
  • Trans-Pennine electrification
  • Transport
  • Transport for Wales (TfW)
  • Travel
  • Twilight years
  • Twitter
  • Twitter (and how not to use it)
  • UK
  • UK steel industry
  • UKIP
  • Uncategorized
  • Vandalism
  • Victoria Prentis MP
  • Virgin Trains
  • Virgin West Coast
  • Wales
  • Walking
  • WCML
  • Weather
  • West Yorkshire
  • Worcester
  • Work
  • World War 1
  • World War Two
  • Yorkshire
  • YorkshireStopHs2

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×