Considering HS2: Planning Britain's high-capacity modern railroad

摘要

In February 2020, the United Kingdom approved construction of the first phase of the "High Speed 2" railroad. HS2 is Britain's first all-new major north-south line in more than a century. The Department for Transport has described it as "the largest and most complete infrastructure project undertaken in modern British history" HS2 has been designed to integrate with the existing network. Construction will occur in three phases. The present British rail network is one of the most used European systems. The unfortunate results of Dr. Beeching's Railway Reshaping Reports from the 1960s and early 1970s (when highway transport was on its rapid ascent) drastically scaled back the British rail network. The network was again transformed in the 1990s as a result of privatization, when all aspects of the railroad were returned to the private sector with specific rail operations franchised to private operators. Following high-profile accidents in the late 1990s, the British government resumed control of railroad infrastructure, and adjusted the subsidized, privately operated passenger franchises. Over the last 20 years, the U.K. has made significant investments in its rail network, improving existing routes and undertaking new construction, notably High Speed 1 - a modern 186-mph railroad between London's St Pancras Station and the Channel Tunnel for high speed passenger services between London and the Continent. Despite this, ridership growth has strained key corridors.