HS2. Is it HS Too Late?

HS2. Is It HS Too Late?

Here’s a controversial blog in some aspects. 

A non-scientific experiment carried out by myself and my co-director Nick Brown has resulted in a ‘Top Gear’ style result. 

Before I state what the result was, the relevance to this experiment was due to the regular cost updates and business return projection for the HS2 project. 

Of course we hear that this rail line will upturn a lot of countryside, and cause a lot of noise and pollution and split communities in half along its route (I wonder if I.K Brunel had this outcry?)

Looking at the figures and the proposition it is hard to see what return of investment the route may bring, but as with all things this big and directly controlled by a government, the costs can be recouped by other means.

The route seems a logical one. Connecting North & Northwest England with Midlands and Greater London. This model has worked well in Japan, North America and closer to home in France, linking Paris with Lyon, Toulouse and Marseille.

However, the key is, that these rail routes have operated for years and brought benefits to those countries. How can it bring investment into parts of England today? If this was built in the 80’s or even 90’s there is no question the benefits would outweigh the costs, but today?

Will people travel to/from London to Leeds or Manchester? Think about it. Twitter, Facebook, Skype, email, Dropbox, Instagram, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn, Interactive channels and more and more. All these fabulous communication links. And the key? Working from home and hours that suit your clients is the way to work today. 

We, at Find The Engineer all work from home, and communicate with all the means above. We no longer travel into offices, or commute to work. Just a quick cuppa and into the study to start work at 6am for me! We have video conferences via Skype, use LinkedIn to publish papers. Blogs, emails and our websites to broadcast news and views. We use Twitter and Facebook for latest vacancy updates to the minute. Everything is very fast, and all from our recruiter’s home computer, tablet or phone.

So recently, us two directors’ had to attend a meeting in Mayfair, central London. 

Do we get the train, the tube? Or do we drive to the outskirts and commute in. 

Well, we drove right into Mayfair (paid congestion charge), parked outside the office, had our meeting. Walked across to a restaurant. Had lunch. Got in the car and drove back to Bristol. 

All for £90!! That’s £45 each. Compare that to the other two choices. Train £153 return. Each! Tube ticket £8.80 each. That’s over £160 each by public transport.

Not worth it. 

That’s why we work the way we do. It’s cheaper to work from home. 

Keeps our overheads low, which means customers get a better price. And let’s be honest if we do travel it's cheaper by car! 

So why bother with HS2? It’s 30 years too late!

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