Campaign grows to switch the building of HS2 station to Sheffield city

[Bargepole23 337]

Just now, BigAl1 said:

I like small airports but Manchester has Emirates, Qatar, Cathay and Singapore all great airlines

True, but Sheffield had KLM, and from Amsterdam I could fly to all the African, M.E and Far East countries I used to spend my life travelling to (but no longer have to do). From memory, I don't recall the airlines you quote being what they are now, certainly not Emirates and Qatar, although I've used the Cathay flight from Manchester direct to HK many times.

[BigAl1 143]

I am not a fan of KLM it’s business class is very poor although I like their lounge in Amsterdam. 
 

give me the airlines I mentioned any day 

[Bargepole23 337]

5 hours ago, BigAl1 said:

I am not a fan of KLM it’s business class is very poor although I like their lounge in Amsterdam. 
 

give me the airlines I mentioned any day 

True ref KLM, but those airlines in the 90s were not what they are now. Been on some ropy Singapore Airlines business class flights within Asia in 90s and early 2000s.

[1978 14]

We seem to be flying away from HS2.

 

However it wasn't helpful to the east leg's cause that Sheffield promoted a no hope route and rubbished the Meadowhall option. I seem to recall the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce supporting those views.

 

We won't know for certain what will actually get built for years yet, whatever is announced now, but the suspicion seems to be that part of HS2 east will be built south out of Leeds and also north up to the East Midlands leaving a big gap very noticeably north and south of Sheffield!

[Anna B 1,401]

Whatever is built (if anything) will cost too much, double in price, take three times as long, be full of chronic mistakes, and be ready when everyone else has moved onto flying cars or a hyperloop system. From as long ago as canals being built as the first major intercity system, Sheffield has missed out or screwed up, while everyone else has moved on. 

Aren't we still the only major city with no local airport?

Edited November 17, 2021 by Anna B

[ECCOnoob 1,020]

32 minutes ago, Anna B said:

Whatever is built (if anything) will cost too much, double in price, take three times as long, be full of chronic mistakes, and be ready when everyone else has moved onto flying cars or a hyperloop system. From as long ago as canals being built as the first major intercity system, Sheffield has missed out or screwed up, while everyone else has moved on. 

Aren't we still the only major city with no local airport?

Doncaster Sheffield is about 23 miles away from central Sheffield. Not significantly much further than Heathrow is from Central London.

 

East Midlands? Leeds-Bradford? Manchester? All around 40 mile away. Not massively much further than Gatwick is to Central London.

 

Think about logistics of building a large airport capable of handling massive jumbos, the scale of them, the land required for runways, taxiways, terminal, car parking, transport. Just where exactly in our city built on many hills surrounded on several sides by the Peak District do you think would be suitable.

 

Let's not forget the council already tried to jump on the airport bandwagon once before. They wanted a slice of that action and make themselves look all high and mighty with their wannabe version of London City. We all know that worked out.

 

Honest to makes you wonder why they bother sometimes......if they build something people moan..... if they open something new people slag it off.....  if they redevelop something people complain it was better like the old version.....  if they announce some Project people whinge about the costs of it..... if they cancel some Project people complain they are being left out.

 

Can't build roads because the environmentalists kick-off. Try to repair existing railway structures people complain about disruption to their journeys. Announce and develop plans for HS2 people all whinge it's too expensive, too disruptive, too elitist, too pointless.  Scale back the project and now the very same people are complaining they broke their promises. 🙄

Edited November 18, 2021 by ECCOnoob

[sadbrewer 20]

43 minutes ago, 1978 said:

We seem to be flying away from HS2.

 

However it wasn't helpful to the east leg's cause that Sheffield promoted a no hope route and rubbished the Meadowhall option. I seem to recall the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce supporting those views.

 

We won't know for certain what will actually get built for years yet, whatever is announced now, but the suspicion seems to be that part of HS2 east will be built south out of Leeds and also north up to the East Midlands leaving a big gap very noticeably north and south of Sheffield!

You're absolutely right...this is what Higgins said at the time.

 

Sir David Higgins, chairman of HS2 Ltd, told parliament's Economic Affairs Committee last year: "Something that I keep coming back to when we have this debate in Sheffield and in other areas is that we are building a spine; we are building a motorway, not an A-road. Therefore, it will defeat the purpose if this railway line has to weave through every city — if it has to go through Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield city centres the whole way up.
"As to the debate on Sheffield, there are four cities that make up the 1.3 million people who are in "Greater Sheffield." Three of them passionately want Meadowhall, and they see that as critical for all the jobs. The high-tech job growth in that area is coming in Rotherham and Barnsley, and a lot of the railway jobs and new academy are in Doncaster. All I have said to them is, "You need to be united. It is no use you fighting amongst yourselves on this issue.""

[ECCOnoob 1,020]

10 minutes ago, sadbrewer said:

You're absolutely right...this is what Higgins said at the time.

 

Sir David Higgins, chairman of HS2 Ltd, told parliament's Economic Affairs Committee last year: "Something that I keep coming back to when we have this debate in Sheffield and in other areas is that we are building a spine; we are building a motorway, not an A-road. Therefore, it will defeat the purpose if this railway line has to weave through every city — if it has to go through Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield city centres the whole way up.
"As to the debate on Sheffield, there are four cities that make up the 1.3 million people who are in "Greater Sheffield." Three of them passionately want Meadowhall, and they see that as critical for all the jobs. The high-tech job growth in that area is coming in Rotherham and Barnsley, and a lot of the railway jobs and new academy are in Doncaster. All I have said to them is, "You need to be united. It is no use you fighting amongst yourselves on this issue.""

Absolutely agree. It was doomed from the moment our council insisted on it being city centre based.

Edited November 18, 2021 by ECCOnoob

[sadbrewer 20]

44 minutes ago, ECCOnoob said:

Can't build roads because the environmentalists kick-off. Try to repair existing railway structures people complain about disruption to their journeys. Announce and develop plans for HS2 people all whinge it's too expensive, too disruptive, too elitist, too pointless.  Scale back the project and now the very same people are complaining they broke their promises. 🙄

With all due respect ECCO I don't think that is fair, the only people now complaining about broken promises are those who actually were advocates of Hs2. I can't see anyone who opposed Phase 2b East complaining .

Edit...apologies I should have said...I can't see anyone who opposed Hs2 and also Phase2b East...a few politicians still follow the party line.

Edited November 18, 2021 by sadbrewer

[Guest makapaka]

Turns out we’re getting it after all.

[BigAl1 143]

9 hours ago, Anna B said:

Whatever is built (if anything) will cost too much, double in price, take three times as long, be full of chronic mistakes, and be ready when everyone else has moved onto flying cars or a hyperloop system. From as long ago as canals being built as the first major intercity system, Sheffield has missed out or screwed up, while everyone else has moved on. 

Aren't we still the only major city with no local airport?

If you applied brain you would quickly come to the conclusion that it is not a major airport on your doorstep you want but good access to major airports by public transport. An airport in sheffield would be a vanity project and a massive drain on someone (yours?) finances serving a couple of locations that no one wants to go to.

 

perhaps if sheffield had come up with realistic proposals for HS2 or offered to fund(that would have shut them up) then who knows. I don’t remember the Victorians complaining about Sheffield’s rail connections

[Andy C 85]

37 minutes ago, makapaka said:

Turns out we’re getting it after all.

From what I gather they are going to build a new high speed line from the Birmingham HS2 station to East Midlands Parkway  (south of Derby/Nottingham) with trains to Sheffield then running up the existing Midland Main Line, which will presumably be electrified. HS2 eastern leg was to be a new line from Birmingham all the way to Leeds. Grant Shapps is due to announce the rest of the detail some point this morning I believe.

 

I'd just remind the three key points of HS2, apart from faster journey times were:

- new line creating more capacity with long distance expresses moved onto the new line creating space to run more local trains and freight on the existing lines. This is incredibly important at places like Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds where the existing network is basically full.

- Economic growth with better links to London and Birmingham making places more attractive to base businesses and live.

- Facilitating Northern Powerhouse Rail which was to link HS2 infrastructure around Leeds and Manchester to have a fast Northern network linking Manchester with Sheffield, Leeds and beyond. Northern Powerhouse rail has also been cancelled.

 

It sound like a few quid will be tossed our way for some minor upgrades to existing lines and some feasibility studies to run trams in Leeds and some sort of rail service to Stocksbridge.

 

It seems the way of this government is to announce things repeatedly over several years (especially if an election is approaching) then cancel it, scale it down or delay it (then announce it again differently!)

 

Ultimately the government is slashing promised investment in transport in our region.

Edited November 18, 2021 by Andy C