With Brexit almost out of the way, the focus has shifted to the war on carbon dioxide. I have covered this in previous blogs here and here. Even the term “Greenhouse effect” is misleading and creates a false picture in people’s minds. IF the climate is changing, and IF it is due to human activity, the cause is almost certainly something other than an increase in carbon dioxide levels. That is the devil in the hysteria. It could be making everyone aim at the wrong target.
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...
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