This is Ford, Sussex, the site of one of the proposed new towns. It lies at the junction between the railway lines from Brighton to Portsmouth and from Horsham to Littlehampton; the view is looking roughly to the north-east. The dotted red line is the missing link which would allow trains to go from Brighton to Horsham without going into Littlehampton and reversing, which would be useful when the main London to Brighton line is closed for engineering works. To the left is the River Arun, which is tidal at this point.
The site obviously well provided with rail connections and it is also close to the A27 coast road. But it is low-lying and on a flood plain. However, as long as the liability to flooding is taken into account in the design, it could be an exciting new development, perhaps with canals and other water areas both ornamental, recreational and with moorings for boats. But it will not work if it is filled up with affordable houses built down to cost limits - that will quickly degrade into a slum.
The Guardian has published a couple more articles against HS2, one by specialist rail commentator Christian Wolmar, and another today by journalist Simon Jenkins. The main arguments in favour will doubtless be wheeled out by the commentators: the need for capacity and the disruption caused by upgrading existing routes. HST itself will severely disrupt services to Euston during the construction period. Capacity can be increased at a fraction of the cost by a variety of measures, provided that it is accepted that the additional traffic will run at existing speeds. It is not generally known that the Midland main line is, or was, four track all the way from London to Trent Junction, between Nottingham and Derby. This is because the additional tracks are separate, having been added for coal trains which trundled down to Brent sidings, on the edge of London, from a collection point at Toton in Nottinghamshire, where the Midland Railway build a huge marshalling yard. Beyond Derby, the main l...
Kommentarer