High speed 1 link sold for 2.1 billion.

Yet it cost the taxpayer 5 billion to build.

Nice one Dave only 3 billion tossed down the pan.

I mean are we saying here that the home of railway don't know how to run a railway or what.:|

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11701481


Earl

 

[Matt1959]

Yet it cost the taxpayer 5 billion to build.

Nice one Dave only 3 billion tossed down the pan.

I mean are we saying here that the home of railway don't know how to run a railway or what.:|

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11701481


Earl

on a 30 yr lease, not sold as such:|

 

on a 30 yr lease, not sold as such:|

So you think the world will be here in 30 years.

question is why sell it even on lease,unless you think it will not make money.

Or why buy it for the same reason.?

very fishy.

Earl

 

[Matt1959]

So you think the world will be here in 30 years.

question is why sell it even on lease,unless you think it will not make money.

Or why buy it for the same reason.?

very fishy.

Earl

I hope the worlds still here in 30 yrs, my youngest is only 10:|



Re. lease, I don't know, I'm no expert apart from to say sold is not always sold, as in this case....

edit
in crude terms, they've rented it out?

 

[crossdaz]

Yet it cost the taxpayer 5 billion to build.

Nice one Dave only 3 billion tossed down the pan.

I mean are we saying here that the home of railway don't know how to run a railway or what.:|

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11701481


Earl

It wasn't Dave who ordered it though? You could say £5 billion was tossed down the pan and we've pulled £2 billion back out?

 

[MASSEY]

Your all missing the point.

How much of our tax money goes into interest payments on outstanding national debt?

I would say it was a nice business transaction

 

[Jonathan Bird]

Indeed............

 

[sanjiv]

Who cares. World ends 2012 .
On a more serious note, I agree with MASSEY but there may be more sophisticated and advanced methods of travel 30 years down the line. If it were to utilise the rail network, this would be beneficial.

 

[vvaannmmaann]

I'm sure the teachers in Ontario are delighted with their purchase.

(If they know anything about it)

 

[RadiusBPO]

Does the lease include maintenance or in 30 years will the Gov need to rebuild it?

 

[SneakSMS]

Anyone who's interested should have a look at what the treasury has just published - "National Infrastructure Plan 2010"

http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ppp_national_infrastructure_plan.htm

I suspect it's just part of the government's effort to get private firms to shoulder the cost of whatever they can.

 

[MH1]

Sounds OK, the GOV got more than the market expected, it's a 30 year lease so they still own it, sounds a reasonable deal overall, unless anyone knows better?

 

Sounds OK, the GOV got more than the market expected, it's a 30 year lease so they still own it, sounds a reasonable deal overall, unless anyone knows better?

so as a business proposition you would be happy to lay out 5 billion and get a return of 2 billion over 30 years.?

Earl

 

[MASSEY]

so as a business proposition you would be happy to lay out 5 billion and get a return of 2 billion over 30 years.?

Earl

UK public sector net debt was £952.8 billion. (or 64.6% of National GDP) - Source: Office National Statistics [1] (page updated October 25, 2010)

I wonder what the interest a day is on that figure?

I wonder what the interest on £2billion is a day?

 

I wonder what the interest a day is on that figure?

I wonder what the interest on £2billion is a day?

I think at 5% its about 250k per day.


Earl

 

[sanjiv]

That 2billion in 30 years will be worth 4.8 billion in 30 years at 3% interest every year.
If the 2 billion was paid over 30 years, then its rubbish but they are getting the close to the investment back. 30 years maybe a long time and perhaps still not a great % ROI appx 3.5% but they won't really be able to do much better on this.

 

[MH1]

so as a business proposition you would be happy to lay out 5 billion and get a return of 2 billion over 30 years.?

Earl

Personally no, but the simple fact is something is only worth what someone is willing to pay whatever state the economy is in, the real value in the line is the ownership, which is still with the GOV.

 

[sanjiv]

That 2billion in 30 years will be worth 4.8 billion in 30 years at 3% interest every year.
If the 2 billion was paid over 30 years, then its rubbish but they are getting the close to the investment back. 30 years maybe a long time and perhaps still not a great % ROI appx 3.5% but they won't really be able to do much better on this.

Would probably be more than an average of 3% interest per year as the base rate I think will average higher than this over the next 30 years. Perhaps more like an average or 4-4.5%. (6.5 - 7.5 billion £)

Agree with MH1. Only worth what people want to pay.

 

Apparently the cost to build was 5.8 billion.

No wonder they were glad to dump this white elephant.

5.6 billion and no market research.

read the comments.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/stand...ains-cut-in-size-after-commuter-complaints.do

Earl

 

[MikeJ]

It's never worth reading the comments on web news articles.

You can't do a cost analysis on building the tunnel. You'd need to account for the increase in trade we have with mainland Europe thanks to the ease of shipping goods. It doesn't make sense as a private venture, there's a general benefit to the country that's almost impossible to quantify.

 

It's never worth reading the comments on web news articles.

You can't do a cost analysis on building the tunnel. You'd need to account for the increase in trade we have with mainland Europe thanks to the ease of shipping goods. It doesn't make sense as a private venture, there's a general benefit to the country that's almost impossible to quantify.

Not quite sure how being able to import yet more goods is going to be a benefit to the country.

Apparently the cost of travelling on the HS1 line is twice that of the ordinary train .Hence the lack of passengers as the majority will not pay that amount to save a few minutes.

Governments seem to be a bit to keen on white elephants if one looks at the history of the projects they get involved in.

Earl