Route Choices
The promoters of both wheel-on-rail and maglev systems in Britain, and the technology-agnostic studies that have been commissioned by government departments and third parties, have concentrated on the North-South axis of Britain for the first route. There is some disagreement on whether a single central route, both west and east coast routes, or a single S-shaped route taking in the major population centres (as proposed by maglev promoters) should be constructed first.
All studies have argued that a hub at Heathrow Airport would be desirable as both an interchange for air services and local rail services to the west and south of London, but several studies also show it would not be financially viable due to extra tunnelling costs. The Atkins study has identified routes to the West Midlands, Liverpool and Manchester as being capacity constrained by 2015 and this is almost certainly where the first HSL will be required. Atkins also recommended having two routes, one each side of the Pennines. The study recommends against a trunk and branch structure.
Various route options between London and Birmingham have also been suggested, some incorporating an intermediate stop in the vicinity of either Oxford (a city of international prominence), or Northampton (being roughly half-way), or at another point which will allow convenient interchange with the national rail network (e.g. Bicester, for both the Chiltern Main Line and East West Rail Link).
The Maglev option, promoted by UK Ultraspeed, takes a route from London to Manchester, with a branch to Liverpool, then directly across the Pennines to Leeds, with a branch to Sheffield, before heading north east to Teesside and Tyneside then north to Edinburgh and Glasgow. The Atkins study includes a trans-Pennine option, but puts more emphasis on a line through the East Midlands to Sheffield, Leeds and then north on a similar trajectory to that of the maglev.
Read more about this topic: High-speed Rail In The United Kingdom
Famous quotes containing the words route and/or choices:
“A route differs from a road not only because it is solely intended for vehicles, but also because it is merely a line that connects one point with another. A route has no meaning in itself; its meaning derives entirely from the two points that it connects. A road is a tribute to space. Every stretch of road has meaning in itself and invites us to stop. A route is the triumphant devaluation of space, which thanks to it has been reduced to a mere obstacle to human movement and a waste of time.”
—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)
“Our [adult] children have an adult’s right to make their own choices and have the responsibility of living with the consequences. If we make their problems ours, they avoid that responsibility, and we are faced with problems we can’t and shouldn’t solve.”
—Jane Adams (20th century)