The budget is next Wednesday, 27 October. Most predictions in recent months have suggested the IRP will be published at roughly the same time. There was one report that it would be last Monday, 18th, but that hasn't happened.
Birmingham Post now saying it's been put back again to "around" November 11, and furthermore it will not answer all the questions people have been expecting, but will kick some of them further down the road:
As I half-jokingly commented on Skyscrapercity two months ago:
Please do, I'll be flattered. (I use a different name on SSC - "wrinkly".)
I will try and find the quote and source but just read about 1 hour ago that it is allegedly a Number 10-11 spat again.
www.anandmarket.in
inews.co.uk
I edited my post to provide a fuller link from a different source.
But Johnson's style is to bully somebody else into making the decision and calling it their own. Then he can stand back when it goes wrong.
Maybe you can't see it in the US, but there is a BBC documentary series about the Blair/Brown years on at the moment, and it is amazing what power No 11 has to thwart the PM.
No worries mate. Like I said, it's a bit of a sad obsession now, searching for Integrated Rail Plan in Google News. Sad life that I have when it's one of the first things I do
That "exclusive" is from the deputy political editor of iNews. Some quotes:and here from another source
Boris Johnson ‘demands more cash for Red Wall rail plan’ in latest spending battle with No11
The Prime Minister wants proposals for Northern Powerhouse Rail to be more ambitious, i understands.
Sunak apparently has ambitions on being PM (I know, who would've guessed) so it's in his interest to subtly make Johnson look bad, but not too bad, at the moment in the hope that the party will give BoJo the heave-ho before the next election is in sight.
www.independent.co.uk
If this is correct, it would seem that the Leeds - Sheffield NPR line has been prioritised over the Leeds - London HS2 line. The story seems to suggest that London - Leeds HS2 trains would run via the MML from E Midlands Parkway to Sheffield, but this is surely a non-starter in respect of line capacity!
And probably journey time too.
Even with a new route from Leeds to Clayton and a major upgrade of the route to EM Parkway (presumably via Barrow Hill and the direct route through the Erewash valley), it would probably take an hour to cover this part of the journey. East Midlands to Euston would be around 52 mins (using the proposed timing from the East Midlands Hub) so no significant upgrade on current journey times via the ECML. I don't know how many billions would need to be spent on Erewash, Barrow Hill and the stretch through Rotherham/Swinton/Bolton-on-Dearne to even get to continuous 100mph running.
In November. Any day from next Monday up to Tuesday 30th? It must be having a final polish and awaiting the best publicity window to favour HMG, so after COP26 hullabaloo is over, and emphasising green credentials.
Absolutely, and capacity issues suggest the same thing. As soon as any of the Eastern leg is dropped, London to York and beyond is quicker by the ECML. If a somewhat larger section is dropped then so is London to Leeds.
