Where are we going?

[Suff]

Mind you, judging by their current rate of progress trying to get the existing line to New Street Station, I doubt it will happen much before 2040!!

Well look at Crossrail. 42km 18 years from start to end. Although it is on time and budget.

[Kaz]

We can build all the HS rail lines we want to England's three largest cities outside of London; Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, but they will also need the same level of infrastructure spend as London and the S. East gets or they will always be behind. The fear, a real fear, is that unless these other areas get the same spend, per head, as those in London receive, the flow of business will be to London and not from it.

This

[Suff]

Very true but if they don't have the links by transport they will never see the infrastructure spend. Chicken and egg. I see HS2 as an egg. Which will hatch a chicken which will produce more eggs. No egg, no chickens.... They will never do that infra spend up front, except in terms of the travel capabilities.

Plus that part of HS2 is the most expensive of all. From there on it becomes cheaper and cheaper to cross connect the country. It's exactly the same in France and with France all high speed rail lines really do lead to Paris. Even more so than the roads or the rail lines in the UK.

[Workingman]

Crossrail.

London - 9.2 million population. 74 miles from Reading to Shenfield and Abbey Wood. 60 years in the making since first proposed in 1948 and at a total cost of £41bn. 40 new stations with 635 new trains running every 24 mins. £6.6 over budget for the Northern routes alone.

Northern Powerhouse (lol) - 5.9 million population. £1.2bn to spend on over 214 miles of track. HS3 Leeds to Manchester - 38 miles, at London prices that is £20bn. HS2 is obviously cheaper outside of London because land prices are cheaper. Why? Because investment has been minimal. Invest in Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield and they will grow. Do not invest, as has been the case, and their situations will only get worse.

Let's not forget that infrastructure projects are funded by a government who gets its money from the country. Give some back - is it too much to ask? At the moment all the chickens are sterile, except the London ones.

[Suff]

Give some back - is it too much to ask?

Don't get me started on that one.... Quote of the weekend from my BIL.

You've become more left wing as you have grown older....

Now you know, I was somewhere to the right of Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan really was just a misunderstood reformer...

[Workingman]

But you do have to agree that London is in a privileged position.

Since Norman times it has been the seat of Monarchy, government and finance and that gave it a head start. Things could have been different, in Roman times Eboracum (York) was the capital...

For the benefit of the nation, the UK, things need to be spread about a lot more. As a Scottish supporter you should agree with this.