Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #whyhs2
Most recents (9)
Apropos of nothing, here are two maps showing where Britain's high speed rail network should be... Not for the high speed trains, but for the capacity they'd release on heavily congested existing railway lines. #whyHS2 
What are those maps? They show average daily road flows (the second one is for HGVs).
This is straight out of @safemyth's excellent report on HS2's carbon benefits: #whyHS2
This is straight out of @safemyth's excellent report on HS2's carbon benefits: #whyHS2
The sooner we paint a permanent, long-term picture of what our transport systems should look like, the sooner we can build them. Yet only one major party in the UK has attempted to even get close to doing this (the @scottishgreens).
Nothing is stopping @UKLabour doing this NOW.
Nothing is stopping @UKLabour doing this NOW.
🌍 Now people in my mentions are saying that because slow trains haven’t stopped people flying domestically there’s no reason to build faster trains along the routes people commonly fly because they’re quicker than trains. 🙃 #whyHS2
The fun part about this graphic is that it says domestic trains are 41g. Yeah that’s a fair average when so many are diesel (and can’t be electrified due to limitations of the surrounding environment) but HS2 advertises 8g/km. closer to Eurostar levels of emissions.
These same people are acting like trains are inherently making people drive more, because some people drive to a train.
So we start with the 1st line & hit the buffers as we hit the “reallocate funds fallacy”. This has been explained so many times. Cancelling #HS2 means no money for anything else. Funds raised for #HS2 can ONLY be spent on HS2 & these funds are borrowed against future use.
If there’s no HS2, there’s no funding for HS2 & no money. Also please explain how NR received an initial £48bn for CP6 back in 2019 if HS2 was “hoovering up funds”. As for value, as seen with existing lines, heavy capital costs are made back over the lengthy operational timespan
Remember that parts of today’s WCML are almost 200 years old. How many times has that paid for itself over & over & over again above its initial costs? Also, what’s with a #Green going with the austerity rhetoric?? We can’t afford not to decarbonise, at any cost, esp public spend
🚨 #whyHS2 RANT ALERT 🚨
✈️ There are 170 daily flights between London and the Scottish Central Belt.
🚄 HS2, delivered in full, can and must result in every single one of those flights being grounded. For good.
✈️ There are 170 daily flights between London and the Scottish Central Belt.
🚄 HS2, delivered in full, can and must result in every single one of those flights being grounded. For good.
When I say grounded, I mean the flights cease to exist. They end. The planes aren't leased for the trip.
These flights need to be regulated out of the sky at the earliest opportunity.
These flights need to be regulated out of the sky at the earliest opportunity.
Hopefully, when HS2 is fully operational, people won't have the choice to fly. Any flights with a viable rail alternative should be regulated out of existence. And don't get me started on air miles - these also need to be regulated out of existence.
We are @TheGreenParty members, some elected, some not, who think we should support HS2 because it has a big role in a low-CO2 sustainable transport network for the UK in the 2030s and beyond. HS2 supports our sustainable transport goals, nationally and locally. /1
We think the GP’s position is politically harmful and short-sighted: it puts us at odds with other GPs in Europe and with our own policy, at the same time aligning us with the IEA, TPA, UKIP and other fringe groups with no interest in sustainability. /2
The party’s position makes us look like a pressure group rather than a national orgasnisation with a serious transport policy. It diverts our campaigning energy from the real enemy: the govt’s road plans which are much more destructive and have NO sustainability case. /3
Today, campaigners and celebrity activists are launching #RethinkHS2, a typically misguided "green" attack on HS2.
I've been promising a new #whyHS2 thread explaining why opposition to HS2 means exacerbating the #ClimateEmergency, and this seems like the perfect excuse 🙄
I've been promising a new #whyHS2 thread explaining why opposition to HS2 means exacerbating the #ClimateEmergency, and this seems like the perfect excuse 🙄
As ever, I'll start by pointing you to this thread explaining the purpose of HS2 from a railway perspective:
Transport is now the UK's biggest source of GHG emissions, and it is still getting worse.
There are lots of underlying reasons for this, but fundamentally it is because too many people/things use road transport.
There are lots of underlying reasons for this, but fundamentally it is because too many people/things use road transport.
The second of today’s #whyHS2 threads looks at the Great Central Main Line (often referred to as the GCR), and suggestions that reopening this railway would be a better alternative to HS2.
This simply isn’t correct. By comparing the two alignments, you can see why…
This simply isn’t correct. By comparing the two alignments, you can see why…
On opening, HS2 Phase 1 will relieve the WCML south of Birmingham. HS2 Phase 2A will further relieve the WCML northwards to Crewe.
HS2’s full potential is unlocked when Phase 2B opens to Manchester and Leeds, freeing up space on the WCML, MML, ECML and XC route.
HS2’s full potential is unlocked when Phase 2B opens to Manchester and Leeds, freeing up space on the WCML, MML, ECML and XC route.
To understand exactly how HS2 achieves this capacity release, see our earlier #whyHS2 thread:
Despite being on the same side as shady folks like @IEAlondon and @the_TPA, allies against climate chaos (like @TheGreenParty and @ExtinctionR) still oppose HS2...
I'm going to do a little thread of threads explaining why this is really scary 😬
#GPConf #GreenWave #whyHS2
I'm going to do a little thread of threads explaining why this is really scary 😬
#GPConf #GreenWave #whyHS2
@iealondon @the_tpa @TheGreenParty @ExtinctionR Before we kick off, there is no better explanation of the point of/need for HS2 than @joncstone's recent piece in the @Independent (independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…) so definitely give that a read first.
#GPConf #GreenWave #whyHS2
#GPConf #GreenWave #whyHS2
Next, the bigger picture... Transport is now the UK's biggest source of GHG emissions, and it is still getting worse.
There are lots of underlying reasons for this, but fundamentally it is because too many people/things use road transport.
There are lots of underlying reasons for this, but fundamentally it is because too many people/things use road transport.
This week, @LiamHalligan and @C4Dispatches asked whether #HS2 was a good use of public funds, and whether the same benefits could be gained by spending the money elsewhere.
Here's our answer.
#HS2alltheway #WhyHS2
Here's our answer.
#HS2alltheway #WhyHS2
The vast majority of Britain's railways are a jack of all trades and a master of none.
Because of our mix of fast, slow, non-stop and stopping trains, we aren't able to squeeze services together to get the most out of the existing infrastructure.
Because of our mix of fast, slow, non-stop and stopping trains, we aren't able to squeeze services together to get the most out of the existing infrastructure.
The fastest services eat up the most capacity by forcing everything else to get out of the way - trains can't overtake on a two track railway.
Building HS2 unlocks a massive amount of space on the existing railway by segregating high speed services onto their own pair of tracks.
Building HS2 unlocks a massive amount of space on the existing railway by segregating high speed services onto their own pair of tracks.
