Is integrated rail system plan so bad? (From Worcester News)

Is integrated rail system plan so bad?

12:50pm Tuesday 7th February 2012 in Read

SIR – While I have no particularly strong views either way on the HS2 high speed line, I feel I must challenge the opinions of Christopher Booker ‘HS2 scheme makes no practical sense’ and Stanley Parr ‘All we have to do is obey Brussels’ orders’ in the Worcester News (January 20).

The idea that an EU directive on a Trans- European Network signed 19 years ago was evidence of the UK Government jumping when Brussels shouts is ridiculous.

The directive does not order any member state to build any high-speed line in any particular time-frame.

It merely sets out a vision and standards for an integrated, inter-operable system which is surely an exciting one.

It is a pity that our own UK politicians did not have a long-term vision of an integrated transport system when our rail system was broken up under privatisation.

Also, I am not sure why inter-operability is such a dirty word.

I am sure correspondents to the Worcester News would be the first to complain if each EU country ran incompatible railways meaning that passengers had to change trains each time a national border was crossed.

Finally, Mr Booker’s idea of travelling from Birmingham to Paris by plane in under an hour neglects the time taken to travel from home to airport, getting from the car park to the terminal, checking in an hour before flight time, going through security, waiting for luggage at the destination, going through immigration and then travelling from Charles de Gaulle Airport to the centre of Paris.

If he can do all of that in under an hour, I would be very surprised.

MIKE ASTLES
Worcester