H2

[Alsatian]

I worked in Chetwynd House  from 1973 to 1991 when I took early retirement.I spent all of that time in Personnel and  for the last seven years in OMAG.
When the Post Office split the job I was doing was in Parcels  and I was transferred to Parcelforce where I remained until I finished.

That'd be 5th floor East block in the Chetwynd House days then? I knew quite a few in Parcel force, I'm intrigued as to who you are, send me a pm with your name? Keith (ex Surface Letters sub group) (there's a rather large clue as to my identity!)

[Fly]

Check your profile Alsatian, I think you have PM's turned off.

[Fly]

Sorry, looks like it was something at this end.
Should be sorted now.

[Sorastro]

Apparently not.... It is alleged
Although no longer chancellor Osborne is very much in the forefront of keeping HS2 "ontrack" as the big contractors who would lose out if it were scrapped are weeping and wailing about the "damage" to the country if the plug was pulled.
Even though the cost to date has been openly estimated at £80 billion {and rising} Osborne and his cronies seem to be ready to convince the nation that it will be all worth it in the end. Apparently one reason is the higher the cost paid to contractors the more money a certain corporation {who employs Osborne for one day a week for the princely sum of £650,000 a year} will make.

Update... to date estimated £106 billion {and rising} plus years added on to the completion date{s}
The stop HS2 campaign manager was quoted as saying "HS2 is an unaffordable white elephant"......fancy!   

[Fly]

Nah. We all know it will be worth it in the end 
Oh no. Who are we 

[Old Cruser]

This fast pace of living and getting around can't be good for anyone.
Life needs to slow down about - starting with no H2,
I remember the times on the old steam trains to Blackpool from Chesterfield. It was lovely to sit back and watch the scenery.

[Sorastro]

[quote author=Old Cruser link=topic=6573.msg47056#msg47056 date=1579656964
I remember the times on the old steam trains to Blackpool from Chesterfield. It was lovely to sit back and watch the scenery.
[/quote]

Yes in those halcyon days of steam things did appear to go at a leisurely pace. Most people then only used the trains to go on holiday or day trips, very few {compared with today} needed a train to get to work.  In some cases people only used them maybe once a year but the demand was so great it was a profitable business, yes it had it's faults, it wasn't perfect, and if the train did arrive at the destination 10 minutes late it was no big deal, but at least goods and people were kept moving. Then in the late 50's to late 60's people became more independent, they started buying cars which freed them up from railway timetables so broadened their horizons, more and more freight too started going by road as the motorways started to make an impact, so Beeching axed numerous railway stations obviously to cut costs and save money. 

Unfortunately 30 odd years later it has gone full circle, the reliance on trains to get people to their place of work is phenomenal and in that time successive governments have failed to keep up with the demand. Grant Schapps {minister for transport} on breakfast t.v. this morning gave the viewer a classic lesson in how to evade awkward questions. It's always jam tomorrow with politicians, they honestly cannot understand why, when they announce all this spending and updating the railways, that it will take YEARS and YEARS. All the commuters cramped into ageing rolling stock having to stand all the way because there are not enough coaches on the train and they are constantly late for work want something doing NOW. It's no good telling commuters "Just hang on in there for another 15 years and we will have it sorted"

[Sorastro]

Yep..it's official, another eureka idea {off the back of a cigarette packet} is now spiralling out of control.

According to the news the London to Birmingham stage won't be completed till 2030 + {and that's a conservative [!!!]estimate}

The argument now is do we cut our losses and stop this madness.....or
do we plough on regardless of the cost and inconvenience.

We could always have a referendum on it.....don't you think??

[Sorastro]

Well..well..well,

Apparently when HS2, from the South, reaches Birmingham {stressing the when!} they will have basically run out of money, that or they just don't want to spend on the North now the South are going to be getting "their bit".

They are hoping the first trains to run the HS2 line from Birmingham to London and visa versa will be anytime between 2029 and 2036, and I don't mean round about half past eight!

It will be interesting to find out what the "newly" elected Northern Tory M.P.'s, and moreover their constituents, will make of the fact Boris and the gang have sh*fted them over.
The only good thing to come out of this is at least the HS2 fiasco will finally be coming to an end. The bad news is it's already spent well over it's original budget {big surprise} with not a lot to show so far, and everyone North of Birmingham will just get a sticking plaster for their rail services.