25 Years of the HST

摘要

Last month, we left the boffins very firmly in the back room, plotting where to take the APT project. APT was not dead, it was merely sleeping - or so they thought. Nevertheless, the benefits of APT were still just about apparent; those of a very high speed train running on conventional tracks. The plan for HST saw it effectively becoming a 'stop-gap', to cover the late delivery of APT, or to be used where electrification was not deemed appropriate. The BR plan saw a squadron (yes, that really was one of the phrases being used in the 1970s) of 130 APTs and 161 HSTs. For reasons that are unclear, BRB seemed under the impression that it would be allowed to spend, spend, and spend some more. Echoes of the 1955 modernisation plan, perhaps. And it was not just on rolling stock, for BR assumed that the East Coast route would be electrified very soon. Not surprisingly, the Department of Transport (let alone the Treasury) was not prepared to sanction such a spree.