Ooops, sorry, I wandered into this site by mistake. I thought it was about France and living in France.
My apologies.
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So those of us that live in the UK ,have family there,pay taxes there etc aren’t meant to discuss issues or concerns?
The thread is clearly about HS2 - no-one made you read it.
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What a strange & bizarre post, Norm! How people choose to survive France is not imited to only discussing things french - that would cut the posts on the site by a considerable amount.
I would not have put you in the category of the “must eat only french food, drink french wine & think all french shops are wonderful at customer service, or go back home” brigade.
My post about my VR goggles also had nothing french in it & the discussion wandered off into the realms of beer production & UK pubs but that, surely, is the nature of general discussion?
We all survive France in different ways & observing the actions of foreign governments would certainly count, unless you were REALLY blinkered.
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In the old days I often travelled from Manchester to London on business. It was very convenient and the trains mostly well-timed to arrive for a morning meeting. But the journey time deteriorated badly in the 1990s along with the state of the line. When the chance of being able to get a through service to France and the rest of Europe was first mooted I was thrilled at the prospect. But it was of course never to be.
What is the point of having high speed train to Birmingham from London? I have only been to Birmingham one time can’t remember it being a power house of anything what is the economy of having people traveling up and down from there?
It is the case of the chicken & egg - once it is built Birmingham will become a hub of industry - alternatively it will become a commuter town for London.
Now the Chinese are offering to “Get it done.”
What do you think, Boris?
Maybe you could get them to knock up a few quick hospitals at the same time. . . .
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Why would a slightly quicker train journey make so much difference? Has Birmingham not got anyone local who can work? I used to work near to where I lived. Still do.
I have never had to commute. I remember my father doing so, from Longfield in Kent to Holborn Viaduct so not a particularly long journey.
Are thousands of people really going to use this massively expensive extra rail route? The way HS2 is promoted you would think that there is currently no way anyone can access anywhere north of Watford.
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They do know a bit about high speed rail in China. I was very impressed with the network around Shanghai.
I was amazed it was going to take approx 20 years to build - the Chinese claim 5 years.
Just compare the cost of houses between London & Birmingham.
They remind of the British during the Victorian era. Incredible engineering projects all over the world. Is the UK about to mortgage its future and become a vassal state of the Chinese empire?
@Mike_Kearney - it is a fine example of “Taking back control”.
The big difference with the Chinese approach would be a lack of consultation and heavy handed land grabs (as per the Victorian era).
So does everyone living in Birmingham work in offices or shops in London? Those that do surely already use the current transport systems which, if my memory serves me well, already includes trains.
It is not as if those working in London & choosing to live elsewhere are currently prevented from doing so.
Does the City suffer from a lack of suitable workers that HS will redress? I don’t think so.
The family manufacturing business used to be based in London but my grandfather liked Broadstairs & built a house there. Not wanting to commute, he moved the factory & staff out of London & set up near his home - problem solved!
The company built a new factory & houses for some of the employees & financially aided others who wanted to move. Most of the products could be sent by post although bigger consignments still had to go by lorry to the docks. The company did not need to be London based, something many busunesses are discovering.
At under an hour from Birmingham to London the opportunity to commute increases and may fall within a threshold people are content with.
Would I want to commute - absolutely not, but many people do. Where we used to live in UK (just last year) many of pur neighbours commuted an hour into London.
I think it is interesting that HS2 is being sold on the basis of creating opportunities in “The North” whereas I can see it working in the other direction in the short term. (and yes Birmingham is absolutely in The North! - but that is probably another discussion)
I always thought Brum was fair and square in the Midlands. Must have moved.
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North or South nothing in between! (but different discussion)
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Sink holes is all I will say!!!
@Mat_Davieshas the barefaced cheek to assert: “North or South nothing in between! (but different discussion)”. Mat is wrong, creepily so 
I am a Brummie. I am categorically not a Northerner. No Brummie is a Northerner. Birmingham is not a northern city. We are Midlanders.
Anyone who thinks differently is likely to be a half-pinter from the effete south, or a poncey Londoner, also renowned as half-pinters by anyone coming from north of Banbury.
The south begins in Aylesbury, and begins to look like it in Tring. London starts at Cockfosters.
Oxford is not a southern city either. Get used to it, creeps. 
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