By Ian Walmsley
Pan Up
The stock for HS2 has been specified with similarities to IEP, not a great success for the passenger. How can the billions of pounds being spent on HS2 avoid disappointing passengers again?
PLEASE DON’T RUN
The stock for HS2 has been specified long before a rail is laid, but good news; the specification is much better than IEP’s was. The parameters laid down now will define the rolling stock for decades to come and while there is a lot of good technical data and explanatory notes, some of the IEP’s failings have been carried over like an inherited disease. Fortunately, some minor changes now could produce trains we can all be proud of rather than a conveyor belt of plastic seats.
When we build an airport, do we tell Airbus or Boeing how to build the planes for it? If we build a new motorway (perish the thought), do we specify the lorries and cars to use it? Uniquely, build a new railway and a government department, with a proven track record in disaster, will specify the trains.
