Submitted by Captain Qahn on
"Highways England has said there is a “strong strategic case” to build the TransPennine Tunnel but added that it will take 20 to 25 years to build.
Highways England North-west regional director Alan Shepherd said he hoped the chancellor would give the green light to the project in the Autumn Statement.
He told Construction News that the project could be the world’s longest tunnel and Europe’s largest civil engineering project in the past 30 years.
Five routes were shortlisted for the proposed £6bn tunnel, which will link Manchester to Sheffield, in August this year.
Asked whether the UK had the correct skillset to deliver a major tunnelling project of this scale, Mr Shepherd said HS2’s bidders and procurement were “a good analogy” for how the process would work.
He said Highways England would look at larger contractors to deliver the project in tandem with international firms, citing current Northern delivery partners Kier and a Balfour Beatty / Mott MacDonald joint venture – “if we need to get tunnellers in from Norway, we can do that”, he added.
Mr Shepherd was speaking at the CN Sumit 2016 alongside Scarborough Group joint chief executive Simon Marshall and Liverpool City Council assistant chief executive Catherine Garnell.
The panel agreed that east-west connectivity was vital for the Northern Powerhouse agenda, with a strong case for HS3.
Mr Marshall said projects like the Ordsall Chord,which will link Manchester's Victoria and Picalilly stations, would “lay the groundwork” for better connectivity across the region.
He added that increased connectivity would make the North’s core cities even more attractive to international funders, and added that government support for schemes had helped his firm “to go to the Far East with a clear message” for investors.
Ms Garnell said investment in Liverpool’s port would be just the start of the city’s investment in its infrastructure, with upcoming investments including a new cruise liner terminal to boost tourism in the city."
She added that the city is looking to secure additional government funding in the Autumn Statement for a major overhaul of its public realm, following on from an earlier £40m investment."
Source: Construction News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrIn-MZx4wA
No. No. Nooooah ... it has to go across to Hull thereby we can all join with Scotland, give or take a toll or two.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-37671236
Change of heart or a downright tight ... (think about it) Boris' domestic problems may have more to do with Brexit than his own 'end' ;-/ http://newsthump.com/2016/10/16/woman-hiker-admits-she-knew-branch-would...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/headlines/37671491
Oh: http://www.snp.org/joinus tempting but mebbe a wee bit extreme '-)
Ah, so ....reconnect : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/15/hs2-should-be-renamed-the-gra...
"HS2 should be renamed the Grand Union Railway as the controversial project is not actually about speed, the minister in charge has said.
Andrew Jones MP, the transport minister, admitted the line is more about boosting capacity than high speed because it is intended to bring communities together.
Speaking at an event at Conservative party conference in Birmingham Mr Jones said: "I probably wouldn't have branded it about speed but it is what it is. Speed isn't the main thing.
"Yes the speed message will come across ... but actually what it will do also is free up more capacity for more capacity and more freight."
He added: "Ultimately it is about making our country more connected ... How about [calling it] the Grand Union Railway or something like that? That's ultimately what it's going to do, to bring parts of our country together."
The controversial high speed rail link has been criticised because of the high costs associated with building it and the impact on people living close to the route...
"They said we need the speed because people don't work on trains so they need the extra time but that's absurd."
He added that the argument for extra capacity "doesn't stand up" either because the line "misses out huge swathes of the country and bypasses large areas".
"We even have the absurd situation where HS2 is proposed to go under East Midlands airport in a tunnel costing £500million but it won't be stopping there."
Making the case for the high speed link during the coalition Government Patrick McLoughlin, the former transport secretary, said HS2 would increase capacity on the overcrowded West Coast mainline and make it easier for commuters to live outside London but work in the capital. "
Erm, Capital ?
Sadly, just as there was thought to be some political intelligence that remained within the UK, all hopes were dashed: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37642644
"Lord Wolfson, the chief executive of Next, says the decline in the pound "inevitably" means there will be some inflation in the UK next year.
PS : Sheffield is not East Yorkshire .... tis South. East meets West ... most unlikely. Tis a Rose thing.
Awe : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-37672804
Any thing is possible :-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkKW9OCXtT0
Mind over matter ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1w-wTWjOXE
With jest a tad of Ho Po
5 Comments
YP: "No Alternative to HS2"
Submitted by Captain Qahn on
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/opinion/yp-letters-no-alternative-to...
"THERE’S still no guarantee HS2 will be built north of Birmingham, hence I agree that HS3 from Hull to Liverpool must be the priority for the North."
Interesting comments. Mind, who is gonna pay for it?
http://www.yorkshirecoastradio.com/news/local-news/2123192/scarborough-t...
Morning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvCBSSwgtg4
Theoretically speaking ... wot you mean HS2 is not hot shale two?
Back to the drawing board.
Northern Powerhouse Pretence
Submitted by Captain Black on
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/business/business-news/northern-p...
"Economist Lord Jim O’Neill and John Cridland, former director general of the CBI and current chair of Transport for the North (TfN), join a host of senior business and civic leaders from across the north already on the board, with the group meeting for the first time this week...."
"While Steve Gillingham, director of the north at Mace, pointed out that now is the time for the north to unite. He said: “The formation of the NPP comes at a critical time. Following the vote to leave the EU it is now more important than ever that the private and public sector come together with one voice to provide the expertise and long-term commitment needed to create an economic powerhouse in the north.
"As the new government prepares to set out its vision of an industrial strategy which promotes growth across the whole of the UK, it is vitally important that we in the north make our voices heard to ensure the Northern Powerhouse becomes a reality."
Who gives a hoot ... when the final decisions are being made in London?
KM8: "Tuesday 22 November. If the judge at the Royal Courts of Justice gives permission for the judicial review, the full hearing will go ahead immediately and is likely to continue on Wednesday 23 November"
Too close for comfort imv ...
Percy the pink...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLRjFWDGs1g&list=PL8zDLpPffRVu6rSPcTbMrk...
Ne'er mind tis drop dead Fred week ;-)
My how time flies ... 25.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRkmMYMtqog
Ooh I have a red pair.
Oh sh*t I put 'em somewhere safe ...
Mind, if I can bend over long enuff to put 'em on they might never come off ... 'til the end of the week.
Toodle pips.
Angus.
Zips.
Northern Powerhouse Junctions
Submitted by Captain Black on
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/24/transport-secretary-back...
"Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “It won’t escape people’s notice that this commitment to London today comes just days after the transport secretary cancelled electrification schemes all over the country...."
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/andy-mcdonald-mp/hs2-crossrail_b_1757138...
"Last week the government snuck out dozens of announcements on the final day before summer recess in a bid to bury bad news, including the cancellation of plans to make the railway network faster, greener and more reliable by electrifying lines..."
Andy McDonald is the shadow transport secretary and Labour MP for Middlesborough
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjwZ_9n4DVE
Oh well :-)
The Lynx Effect
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/shortcuts/2017/jul/23/the-lynx-e...
"Steve Piper from the trust doesn’t think the cats will threaten sheep: “It doesn’t matter that sheep are slower than a deer or an ‘easy meal’, in every real-world example, lynx show virtually no interest in killing sheep.”
Hmmm ...
http://www.nationalsheep.org.uk/news/10703/nsa-rejects-procedures-behind...
How Now.
http://www.lynxuk.org/
Oh yes... dogs are so last year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr5EwZo_CHQ
Elevated positions.
fascinating
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUYYojooGdo
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40658560
Counting Sheep ...
Submitted by Benefitz Betty on
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/environment/gove-will-not-fast-track...
"Rumours that the Environment Secretary may be prepared to “fast-track” a decision on the controversial release of lynx into the wild have been rubbished by Natural England.
The National Sheep Association (NSA) said is was concerned about any notion that Michael Gove may be prepared to accelerate the application process, after a formal proposal for the release of the wild cats in Kielder Forest, Northumberland, was submitted to Natural England, the government’s environmental advisory body, earlier this year by Lynx UK Trust.
Phil Stocker, chief executive of the NSA, which has grave concerns over the application, said: “I know Mr Gove is interested in these proposals and I am certain now is the time for individual farmers, land managers and their representative organisations to make their feelings heard.
“I would go as far as urging every farmer who has views over this to write to the Secretary of State so he can appreciate the strength of stakeholder concerns, which go way beyond the losses that will be suffered by sheep farmers.”
As well as predation on their flocks, sheep farmers fear any reintroduction of the lynx to the British landscape after an absence of hundreds of years, would also come with disease and welfare risks, and that it was a simple matter of striking a compensation deal with farmers whose livestock are attacked by lynx.
A spokesperson for Natural England said: “Any decision to grant a licence to reintroduce lynx into the wild in England will be based on the impacts on affected communities, the wider environment and follow international guidelines.”
Oh.
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/michael-gove-calls-for-end-to-bonker...
Conkers..
http://www.visitconkers.com/thingstodo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLzVbz2HHzo
The Pickled one.
'The Rugged Spine'
Submitted by Captain Black on
"Only half of one per cent of Leeds inhabitants visit Manchester in a year. And the same the other way round. What is striking was how many people stated that a) they didn’t use rail travel very much, finding it expensive, unreliable and time-consuming and b) didn’t think that the Conservatives would suffer too badly from breaking a firmly established promise..."
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/nov/20/hs2-transpennine-express...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od6hY_50Dh0
"“It is probably down to something quite basic and primal, like keeping a balance between being safe and warm and not depleting resources.”"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-OTYT02W7E
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-59307832
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heYEyeKt9Ss
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/nov/20/is-smart-tech-the-n...