foxy lady Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Last year we took a trip along the newly restored Chesterfield Canal. EU money has helped to restore many of our abandoned waterways, and they are now a haven for leisure craft rather than the working barges of 150 years ago. However I had a further idea about the use of canals. For example a canal from York to the Humber could be a tourist attraction for much of the year, but in times of flood provide a very useful relief channel for flood waters to be drained from York area into the sea. I'm sure that other places could benefit too from channels that did not meander around through villages and were chocked with trees. Why not save the money that would be wasted on HS2 and build a network of canals that could move heavy frieght, provide leisure routes and be used to reduce flooding instead? We could probably even con the EU into funding it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamston Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Building more canals makes more common sense than wasting money on HS2 . The main reason Concord went out of service and was never replaced was because of online conferencing via the internet which considerable reduced the demand for fast cross Atlantic travel . Faster transport methods have been trumped by lightening faster internet speeds . London will benefit more from HS2 than the rest of the UK and the savings in any journey times are not worth the investment in these days of mobile instant communication technology . The leisure industry could certainly benefit from expansion of our canal network and also residential projects based along side new mariners would be highly sought after . I don't have a problem if new canals are built next to new coal powered power stations in order to benefit from cheap foreign coal. Also flood prevention schemes could also be incorporated in the building of new canals . We certainly need to think outside the box in order to reduce the impact of floods in the future . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harrystottle Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 "EU money"? In our 40 odd year membership of the EU we have paid them more than we have been paid back in every year bar one. It's our money, some of which they graciously give back to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxy lady Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 "EU money"? In our 40 odd year membership of the EU we have paid them more than we have been paid back in every year bar one. It's our money, some of which they graciously give back to us. Well seeing as how the EU will take that money whether or not they gives us any back, isn't it a good idea to find projects where we can benefit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harrystottle Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 It could be. There are a lot of old canals that could be restored too, besides new ones being built. If you could get enough land to put cycle paths alongside them that would be another win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFKvsNixon Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 So, how are we to improve rail track capacity, without building more rail track? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassity Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Why not save the money that would be wasted on HS2 and build a network of canals that could move heavy frieght, provide leisure routes and be used to reduce flooding instead? We could probably even con the EU into funding it. We're obsessed with speed, not so much leisure, everything must be done yesterday. Personally I really like canals and waterways and would prefer corporate money to keep away from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samssong Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 One barge on the South Yorks canals can carry up to 600 tons , How many lorry's would that keep of the roads .how much pollution of the atmosphere would it save by eliminating all those vehicles from the roads. Its a no brainer . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harrystottle Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 So, how are we to improve rail track capacity, without building more rail track? Double decker trains? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFKvsNixon Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Double decker trains? Our infrastructure is a lot older than the continent so our tunnels and bridges are less able to accommodate doubt decker trains. It has been suggested that the extra time needed to load and unload trains at stations would be an issue with double decker trains taking twice the amount of time allocated to current trains. There's also the worry that the loading gauge of out tracks may not be able to accommodate double decker trains This paper article discusses the challenges: http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/how-double-decker-trains-would-improve-britains-railways-10184527.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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