11 Jul 2013

Is this a joke?

The new Thameslink trains from Siemens look like a near-copy of the old and unloved class 319 Thameslink train from BREL, apart from the even uglier front end and the lower bodyside curvature which will reduce the width at floor level. The doors and windows appear to be in exactly the same place. Why on earth didn't they just order some more class 377 units from Bombardier and avoid the row over the loss of jobs at Derby? How much did it cost in consultancy to develop this specification?

2 Jul 2013

Expensive mistake warning over HS2

See FT article here. As the price estimate is revised upwards it looks as if the message is beginning to sink in.