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It really does seem that HS2 is coming together quite nicely. I would love someone to do a fly over of the whole route. It seem to me that putting in this relatively small section of track EWR to Aylesbury would most cost effectively done now, whilst we got all the equipment and work crews in place to carry out the work.
Thanks for such a very clear and comprehensive explanation of this complex section of HS2 route. I have been puzzled about the bridges, green bridges etc. for a while. This video really helps and I appreciate the time and effort you have put in.
This section probably shows most clearly what HS2 is up against. Repeat for another 150km and it's easy to see why it's costing too much. The planning system needs reform, it's just a shame that HS2 gets all the attention when it comes to shining a light on the protracted system which means £100m is spent on bat protection.
Thanks for the vid. I had heard of a structure of this type on HS2 but never seen the designs. It looks like it will be pretty huge. Keep up the good work👍
A while ago I spent time around The Lee, Great Missenden, etc, near Aylesbury.. beautiful quiet country and I can't imagine how it would change with a train running through there.. not for the better... I can't really tell on the maps if the HS2 route avoids it or not? Will the train be visible/audible from that area?
We're all being uncharacteristically polite so far here in the fellowship of the commentariat. Not one for the incomprehensible eruptions of senseless attacks on all and sundry gaining critical mass elsewhere, this channel is no cloistered fraternity. The consistent high production values, thoughtful presentation of sometimes quite tortuous streams of information and especially pleasing to see; the genuine desire to help clear up a misunderstanding, or give a thoughtful response to other comments rather than the disheartening norm on social media channels, i.e. from totally ignore via a like symbol to the sunlit uplands where we are with this channel. Enough sunshine already! Suffice to say, it's to your credit to engage we viewers with an apt answer to our questions. Thank you.
@@Rail_Focus won't happen now, have you seen the damage HS2 has done to the Aylesbury to Calvert track bed it will cost a lot more than previous though to put the line back the best part is there was no reason to destroy the track bed, all they had to do was move there track bed over a few feet,
Most interesting the date for the completion of the rail head for greatmoor waste incinerator by 2028. I have watched all summer hs2 working on eastern track bed which will be east west rail and not starting on the western hs2 side, now I know the answer! As you described there is only 1 to 1.5 km left to complete the Aylesbury link with funding being held back by Central government. The recent budget providing funding for east west rail to Bedford being helped by Universal studios proposal for Europe's largest theme park after euro Disney and with Puy du Foy planned theme park at Bicester , Also with recent proposed large expansion of housing at Bicester and Milton Keynes it will certainly be needed. As for the eastern extension on to Cambridge a recent conversation with some one involved with land acquisition for east west rail said it was a completely different ballgame as east west rail so far been nearly all on existing track bed and that the route from now on would be probably compulsory purchase similar to hs2 delaying the start and completion by 10 to 20 years?
The GM of the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre (BRC), in a recent article in Trackside magazine, seemed to suggest their own site's redevelolment plans might, for some reason , frustrate Network Rail in providing a link from EW Rail. Seems they think playing with old trains, on a very limited stretch of track, granted on a 5 year rolling lease, is more important than providing vital commuter links in the area. Somebody really needs to have a word with the BRC.
Some people really do seem to view the GCR with rose tinted spectacles, as if it were some great example of railway engineering. But if it were a choice between a link which would have huge benefits and preservation, I know why I'd chose
Many years ago didn’t they either support, or at least not oppose closure of the Aylesbury to Calvert section on the grounds that they wanted to take it over to run their trains? I haven’t been there for some years because they no longer seem to run the charter trains two Quainton Road on two days per year, at least I can find no mention of them on their website, and buses do not serve the site on Sundays and bank holidays, when I might want to go, unless things have changed recently.
@@andrewhotston983 where is the point the next station is Aylesbury parkway and I can't see them being aloud to stop there, I think it's used by Chiltern railway,
Apparently that 800m structure is going to cost £100 million. It would be better to build loads of hotels and then put all the bats in there. Do a bit of a breading program. Breed so many bats that they can be taken off the endangered list.
It does look like £100m worth of infrastructure, remember HS2 structures have to last 120 years without significant maintenance. Whether or not it should be built is another discussion, but HS2 were simply complying with legal protections
@@Rail_Focus You would think somebody would stop and think about this. Rather change the law so that all this money could be spent on the bats not trying to stop them from flying into a train. With £ 100 million you could set up a breading program and then have so many bats that they wouldn’t be a need to protect them any more. So what’s going to happen now is that £ 100 million will be spent and the bats will still be a protected species. But the NHS will spend this £100 million in just under 5 hours.
As HS2 is to bypass away from Aylesbury. Do you think that there could be a new HS2 station to be built near Aylesbury and to be called Aylesbury International or Aylesbury Vale International station. With HS2 to extend north from Birmingham to Crewe and with further plans to expand the HS2 to Leeds and the North of England.
If such a station is ever built, it should be an integrated HS2/EWR Calvert Interchange station accompanied by a modern, dense, walkable new town to take advantage of the great connections.
@Andrewjg_89 The whole ooint if HS2 us to get the long-distance limited-stop long-distance traffic off the overloaded West Coast Main Line. From Euston, after Old Oak Commin, the next stop is Birmingham Interchange, then Brum Curzon Street terminus or on through Handsacre Junction through Stafford to Crewe and beyond. So it is unlikely that the southern high-speed spine would tolerate a station partway through Bucks.
So a train is going to.leave london at 200mph and 50 miles later connect to a none electrified piece of track. Can someone simply explain.? Even if electrified what advantages does it offer?
No. The Aylesbury link would allow existing Chiltern Railway services to Aylesbury to continue north to Milton Keynes via EWR. The tracks would just run alongside the HS2 tracks.
A great informative video as always so glad to hear that HS2 is using some of the old GCR infrastructure and bringing into the 21st century although l on near the northern part near Sheffield it’s nice to hear that the old is playing it’s part in the new shame that HS2 has been axed at my end of HS2 any way great videos Best wishes Beighton Parkway Sheffield
Will there be a HS2 station to serve Birmingham International Airport and NEC Exhibition Centre and to be located close to Birmingham International railway station. As well a new Birmingham Curzon Station station that is also part of HS2 and the proposal to extend HS2 much further north of Birmingham.
Thank you for a comprehensive update on this major and complex area. It is good to see the construction progress on this vital upgrade to the UK's railway network capacity. No wonder the southern section exceeded the initial "back of a fag packet" costing estimates. How much per bat??
The cost of providing green and eco protective measures from London to Birmingham must be colossal. HS2 gets a lot of BREAMM environmental points in its design which satisfies the left wing eco town planners. Every construction project in the UK today has to satisfy the same requirements.
3:50 This all sounds encouraging for the future. Could it be the vanguard of a return to our Victorian forebears who took the long view, something which has withered on the vine ever since? Such joined-up thinking is spectacularly overdue a return. Maybe the cost concerns, both money and environment, of having to come back and destroy a load of what you'd built not long ago and then put it back afterwards have finally opened the eyes of the accounts dept to thinking ahead. One day soon, everyone might finally be all grown up about it and planning for tomorrow rather than just pocketing today's immediate gains.
I think it's too much to hope that it'll set the precedence. It was just fortunate that the railhead had to be reinstated and the Aylesbury link was already being talked about.
@Rail_Focus Common sense will prevail at some stage in the future, but I'd rather it were us doing it than it be the result of the cold logic of the computer programming of the robot overlords!
If the same Contractor built it the programme for the HS2 contract would be disrupted and costs would escalate. If another contractor built it they would obstruct each other causing a delay and costs would escalate.
A near enough 1km long concrete structure wide enough for 4 tracks. But the main issue is that HS2 must meet its obligations surrounding wildlife and habitats whilst keeping local authorities happy, which means trying to design structures which will fit into the landscape. I also wonder if that includes the retaining wall to stop the landfill collapsing onto the tracks.
Slso the design has to account for up to 4 trainsxtravelling at 200 mph travelling through the tunnel at the same time. The air pressure being pushed through the tunnel will be colossal.
You won't find a bigger supporter of HS2 than me, but £100 million for a bat protection tunnel to protect bats that aren't endangered and may or may not have been harmed by high speed trains seems insane to me. Surely this is exactly the sort of spending that has driven up costs and turned so much of the public against high speed rail.
From what I can gather there seems to be 3 main issues, HS2's obligations under wildlife protection laws, Buckinghamshire county council making HS2's life difficult and the specification that structures should last 120 years without significant maintenance. It's a heck of a lot to protect bats, but for EKFB's part they seem stuck between a rock and a hard place.
@@Rail_Focus Sure, I'm not blaming EKFB, rather the planning/regulatory/political environment that has led to the decision to built the tunnel in the first place.
This needs scrapping. Let's hope for a new election soon that brings Nigel Farage into power so he can cancel it and give what's built over to local communities to use. There's already a lovely 2ns route to Birmingham from Marylebone and when the WCML does sometimes get busy, people can simply pop.over to Marylebone instead and take a relaxing journey through the beautiful Chilterns.
@Rail_Focus if Trump can win in the USA, Farage can win here, this is a complete waste of money and should be completely cancelled, we don't need it or want it.
If you would like to consider supporting the channel click: www.patreon.com/Chris_Rail_Focus or become a Member here on RUclips
Or you can support the channel by making a purchase on my Redbubble gallery
www.redbubble.com/people/engphotography/shop
Or alternatively by becoming a RUclips member
It really does seem that HS2 is coming together quite nicely. I would love someone to do a fly over of the whole route.
It seem to me that putting in this relatively small section of track EWR to Aylesbury would most cost effectively done now, whilst we got all the equipment and work crews in place to carry out the work.
Most of the heavy lifting will have been completed. Probably just needs some ballast and rails once HS2 is complete. Seems a no brainer to me.
Thanks for such a very clear and comprehensive explanation of this complex section of HS2 route. I have been puzzled about the bridges, green bridges etc. for a while. This video really helps and I appreciate the time and effort you have put in.
Thanks, glad you found it informative 🙂
As always, very informative. This part of the build especially has a large number of issues to contend with; it’s easy to see how the cost spirals!
This section probably shows most clearly what HS2 is up against. Repeat for another 150km and it's easy to see why it's costing too much. The planning system needs reform, it's just a shame that HS2 gets all the attention when it comes to shining a light on the protracted system which means £100m is spent on bat protection.
Thanks for the vid. I had heard of a structure of this type on HS2 but never seen the designs. It looks like it will be pretty huge. Keep up the good work👍
It's an unusual structure for sure. I don't think there's anything like it in the UK.
A while ago I spent time around The Lee, Great Missenden, etc, near Aylesbury.. beautiful quiet country and I can't imagine how it would change with a train running through there.. not for the better... I can't really tell on the maps if the HS2 route avoids it or not? Will the train be visible/audible from that area?
Passes just to the west of the Lee, but not sure if it'll be partially visible from there
We're all being uncharacteristically polite so far here in the fellowship of the commentariat. Not one for the incomprehensible eruptions of senseless attacks on all and sundry gaining critical mass elsewhere, this channel is no cloistered fraternity. The consistent high production values, thoughtful presentation of sometimes quite tortuous streams of information and especially pleasing to see; the genuine desire to help clear up a misunderstanding, or give a thoughtful response to other comments rather than the disheartening norm on social media channels, i.e. from totally ignore via
a like symbol to
the sunlit uplands where we are with this channel.
Enough sunshine already! Suffice to say, it's to your credit to engage we viewers with an apt answer to our questions. Thank you.
Thank you for saying so. My support for HS2 is no secret, but I've always tried to keep the videos as factual as possible.
Very good video again mate of work going on literally going on 5 minutes down the road from us
Cheers 🙂. I've probably driven passed your house several times over the past 2 years 😅
@@Rail_Focus yes if you drive up Main Street and then on to school health you're not far away at all
Thank you for a very informative update as a Aylesbury resident I can only pray for a connection to E W rail
Hopefully someone in the DfT will see sense. It really would be a valuable connection.
@@Rail_Focus won't happen now, have you seen the damage HS2 has done to the Aylesbury to Calvert track bed it will cost a lot more than previous though to put the line back the best part is there was no reason to destroy the track bed, all they had to do was move there track bed over a few feet,
Most interesting the date for the completion of the rail head for greatmoor waste incinerator by 2028. I have watched all summer hs2 working on eastern track bed which will be east west rail and not starting on the western hs2 side, now I know the answer! As you described there is only 1 to 1.5 km left to complete the Aylesbury link with funding being held back by Central government. The recent budget providing funding for east west rail to Bedford being helped by Universal studios proposal for Europe's largest theme park after euro Disney and with Puy du Foy planned theme park at Bicester , Also with recent proposed large expansion of housing at Bicester and Milton Keynes it will certainly be needed. As for the eastern extension on to Cambridge a recent conversation with some one involved with land acquisition for east west rail said it was a completely different ballgame as east west rail so far been nearly all on existing track bed and that the route from now on would be probably compulsory purchase similar to hs2 delaying the start and completion by 10 to 20 years?
The GM of the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre (BRC), in a recent article in Trackside magazine, seemed to suggest their own site's redevelolment plans might, for some reason , frustrate Network Rail in providing a link from EW Rail. Seems they think playing with old trains, on a very limited stretch of track, granted on a 5 year rolling lease, is more important than providing vital commuter links in the area. Somebody really needs to have a word with the BRC.
Some people really do seem to view the GCR with rose tinted spectacles, as if it were some great example of railway engineering. But if it were a choice between a link which would have huge benefits and preservation, I know why I'd chose
Don't those at BRC see the benefits of the Aylesbury to Winslow bletchley it would bring them in a lot more revenue to there site,
Many years ago didn’t they either support, or at least not oppose closure of the Aylesbury to Calvert section on the grounds that they wanted to take it over to run their trains?
I haven’t been there for some years because they no longer seem to run the charter trains two Quainton Road on two days per year, at least I can find no mention of them on their website, and buses do not serve the site on Sundays and bank holidays, when I might want to go, unless things have changed recently.
Are the BRC not getting access to the line towards Aylesbury for a few years as a temporary running line
@@andrewhotston983 where is the point the next station is Aylesbury parkway and I can't see them being aloud to stop there, I think it's used by Chiltern railway,
Apparently that 800m structure is going to cost £100 million.
It would be better to build loads of hotels and then put all the bats in there. Do a bit of a breading program. Breed so many bats that they can be taken off the endangered list.
It does look like £100m worth of infrastructure, remember HS2 structures have to last 120 years without significant maintenance. Whether or not it should be built is another discussion, but HS2 were simply complying with legal protections
@@Rail_Focus
You would think somebody would stop and think about this. Rather change the law so that all this money could be spent on the bats not trying to stop them from flying into a train.
With £ 100 million you could set up a breading program and then have so many bats that they wouldn’t be a need to protect them any more.
So what’s going to happen now is that £ 100 million will be spent and the bats will still be a protected species.
But the NHS will spend this £100 million in just under 5 hours.
As HS2 is to bypass away from Aylesbury. Do you think that there could be a new HS2 station to be built near Aylesbury and to be called Aylesbury International or Aylesbury Vale International station. With HS2 to extend north from Birmingham to Crewe and with further plans to expand the HS2 to Leeds and the North of England.
It's unlikely that a station will be built on the HS2 route between Birmingham and London
If such a station is ever built, it should be an integrated HS2/EWR Calvert Interchange station accompanied by a modern, dense, walkable new town to take advantage of the great connections.
@Andrewjg_89 The whole ooint if HS2 us to get the long-distance limited-stop long-distance traffic off the overloaded West Coast Main Line. From Euston, after Old Oak Commin, the next stop is Birmingham Interchange, then Brum Curzon Street terminus or on through Handsacre Junction through Stafford to Crewe and beyond. So it is unlikely that the southern high-speed spine would tolerate a station partway through Bucks.
Will the stations between Aylesbury Vale Parkway and Claydon reopen when the EWR link is constructed?
Not sure, but it would make sense
So a train is going to.leave london at 200mph and 50 miles later connect to a none electrified piece of track. Can someone simply explain.? Even if electrified what advantages does it offer?
No. The Aylesbury link would allow existing Chiltern Railway services to Aylesbury to continue north to Milton Keynes via EWR. The tracks would just run alongside the HS2 tracks.
A great informative video as always so glad to hear that HS2 is using some of the old GCR infrastructure and bringing into the 21st century although l on near the northern part near Sheffield it’s nice to hear that the old is playing it’s part in the new shame that HS2 has been axed at my end of HS2 any way great videos
Best wishes
Beighton Parkway Sheffield
Thanks, glad you found it informative 😃
Will there be a HS2 station to serve Birmingham International Airport and NEC Exhibition Centre and to be located close to Birmingham International railway station. As well a new Birmingham Curzon Station station that is also part of HS2 and the proposal to extend HS2 much further north of Birmingham.
@@Anonymoususer_8823 Yes, it is called Birmingham Interchange station. It will be very well connected...
Interchange (Birmingham) will be connected to Birmingham International and the Airport via a people mover
Ah ok. Thanks anyways. 👍
Thank you for a comprehensive update on this major and complex area. It is good to see the construction progress on this vital upgrade to the UK's railway network capacity. No wonder the southern section exceeded the initial "back of a fag packet" costing estimates. How much per bat??
The cost of providing green and eco protective measures from London to Birmingham must be colossal. HS2 gets a lot of BREAMM environmental points in its design which satisfies the left wing eco town planners. Every construction project in the UK today has to satisfy the same requirements.
40 Million for the Bat Structure!!!
Probably not far off, but not sure if an official cost had been disclosed. But needs must.
Batty!
3:50 This all sounds encouraging for the future.
Could it be the vanguard of a return to our Victorian forebears who took the long view, something which has withered on the vine ever since?
Such joined-up thinking is spectacularly overdue a return. Maybe the cost concerns, both money and environment, of having to come back and destroy a load of what you'd built not long ago and then put it back afterwards have finally opened the eyes of the accounts dept to thinking ahead.
One day soon, everyone might finally be all grown up about it and planning for tomorrow rather than just pocketing today's immediate gains.
I think it's too much to hope that it'll set the precedence. It was just fortunate that the railhead had to be reinstated and the Aylesbury link was already being talked about.
@Rail_Focus Common sense will prevail at some stage in the future, but I'd rather it were us doing it than it be the result of the cold logic of the computer programming of the robot overlords!
You'd think that the cost of simply building it all at once would be less than building HS2, followed up by the link later.
If the same Contractor built it the programme for the HS2 contract would be disrupted and costs would escalate. If another contractor built it they would obstruct each other causing a delay and costs would escalate.
would there be any impact in high wycombe?
In what sense?
A green bridge also know as a hill with a pathway or a bridge.
A green bridge is a very specific type of bridge
How the hell did an 800m wire mesh structure cost 100m?
A near enough 1km long concrete structure wide enough for 4 tracks. But the main issue is that HS2 must meet its obligations surrounding wildlife and habitats whilst keeping local authorities happy, which means trying to design structures which will fit into the landscape. I also wonder if that includes the retaining wall to stop the landfill collapsing onto the tracks.
@Rail_Focus still, £100 million?
Ultrasonic alarm and air jets?
Slso the design has to account for up to 4 trainsxtravelling at 200 mph travelling through the tunnel at the same time. The air pressure being pushed through the tunnel will be colossal.
It's actually pronounced Gore cott
👍
You won't find a bigger supporter of HS2 than me, but £100 million for a bat protection tunnel to protect bats that aren't endangered and may or may not have been harmed by high speed trains seems insane to me. Surely this is exactly the sort of spending that has driven up costs and turned so much of the public against high speed rail.
From what I can gather there seems to be 3 main issues, HS2's obligations under wildlife protection laws, Buckinghamshire county council making HS2's life difficult and the specification that structures should last 120 years without significant maintenance. It's a heck of a lot to protect bats, but for EKFB's part they seem stuck between a rock and a hard place.
@@Rail_Focus Sure, I'm not blaming EKFB, rather the planning/regulatory/political environment that has led to the decision to built the tunnel in the first place.
The planning system in this country is broken, but it seems HS2 grabs all the headlines.
Apparently they _are_ endangered in this country.
This needs scrapping. Let's hope for a new election soon that brings Nigel Farage into power so he can cancel it and give what's built over to local communities to use. There's already a lovely 2ns route to Birmingham from Marylebone and when the WCML does sometimes get busy, people can simply pop.over to Marylebone instead and take a relaxing journey through the beautiful Chilterns.
Nigel Farage, good one 🤣
@Rail_Focus if Trump can win in the USA, Farage can win here, this is a complete waste of money and should be completely cancelled, we don't need it or want it.
so slow, so expensive, so limited
Not really
So uhh, whats your opinion on the elizabeth line? or thameslink? or the northumberland line?
Not really