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There's an interesting article in the current CityMetric blog (part of the New Statesman), about the so-called 'Northern Powerhouse' so beloved of the current Westminster government. It compares the average speed of trains between major cities in different parts of the country. Have a look at this:
























LondonMilton Keynes1.66 miles/min
LondonReading1.44 miles/min
LondonCambridge1.16 miles/min
ManchesterLeeds0.82 miles/min

The Staggers quite reasonably makes an argument for an urgent upgrade of the trans-Pennine route. After all, it points out, between them the two city centres account for some half a million jobs. HS3, the proposed high speed link across the Pennines, would have immediate benefits in terms of job creation, and significant long-term economic returns on investment.

Meanwhile, here in the land where the railways began, we're one of only three countries in the whole of continental Europe without a single kilometre of electrified railway. (The other two are those renowned economic heavyweights Moldova and Albania.) The electrification of the main line from Paddington is due to reach the Severn Tunnel some time this year, according to a mate of mine who works on the railway infrastructure. No doubt it will cause major disruption when it does. I'll be keeping an eye on it as it proceeds.

Posters advertising the South Wales Metro (see previous entries) are starting to appear at stations across the Valley Lines network. There are no actual dates for the start of the service, mind you. One of my pals, who's a couple of years younger than me, once told me (with his tongue only partly in his cheek) that it's his life's ambition to travel on an electric train on the Valley Lines. If I were him, I wouldn't hold my breath.

After reading the piece in the New Statesman, I did a back of the envelope calculation myself. From Aberdare to Cardiff Central is 24 miles, as near as dammit. It takes exactly an hour to make the journey. By my reckoning, the average speed of the train is a breathtaking 0.40 miles/min. The Metro promises to shave a whole ten minutes off the journey time, taking us all the way forward to 1988, when the train service was first reinstated.

Richard Trevithick, you really wouldn't believe how slow your invention can possibly be over two centuries on.

SWINNEY, P., HS3 is a start. CityMetric, 23 March 2016

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