Tim Almond

I’ve just noticed another problem with their figures. In the BBC article, they state that London to Birmingham would take just 45 minutes with their new fast rail line. This is an average speed of around 157mph for the 189km journey. This sounds impressive.

I decided to check out french railways, SNCF to see what speeds they got. Around a year ago, they launched LGV Est which is a line capable of 350km/h, but running initially at 320km/h (200mph). This is faster than the line that the Conservatives are talking about.

From Paris to Reims, the TGV Est takes 45 minutes.  But that’s over a 144km journey.

So, the Conservative plan says that despite using a slower line, they’re somehow going to get further in the same time than the French service. Unless they can have some faster accelerating trains, it’s not going to happen.

Tags: Politics, Travel //