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Jon Excell
Editor
Awards season and D-Day for HS2
It’s awards season. And as we hurtle towards the end of another testing year for the engineering sector, it’s reassuring that the UK’s manufacturing and technology firms still have plenty to shout about.
This Wednesday the spotlight is turned first on innovation, at the IET’s (Institution of Engineering and Technology) annual Innovation awards and then on manufacturing excellence at the Manufacturer’s annual conference and Awards.
Meanwhile, with the Engineer’s own Technology and Innovation Awards fast approaching, we’re proud to present our shortlisted finalists here. Despite continuing uncertainty over the state of the economy, the record number of entries received for this year’s event paint a reassuring picture of the importance of innovation to the UK’s incredibly diverse technology sector. The winners will be revealed at the Royal Society on December 2nd and the results published here and in The Engineer Magazine.
The cream of some of the UK’s most advanced engineering sectors will also be on display in Birmingham this week at the annual Advanced Engineering show. Running from Wednesday to Thursday at the Birmingham NEC, the event brings together four separate shows: composites engineering, aero engineering, energy engineering and the UK plastics electronics show. According to the organiser, each of these will feature a range of innovative exhibits and conferences and will provide a host of opportunities for networking and discussion.
Finally, this Tuesday will see the publication of a key report on the controversial High Speed 2 rail project. The £17Billion project which would link London with Birmingham has faced mounting criticism from both environmental campaigners and those doubting the economic viability of the scheme. The findings of this weeks eagerly awaited transport committee report could have major implications for the future of the project.
Readers' comments (4)
chriseaglen | 7 Nov 2011 12:31 pm
An implication requiring clarification is the land take for 2 or 4 tracks and mitigations. Only when DFT/HS2 enter proper consultation with the land owners and users and revise the HS2 brief and become flexible on some route section locations will people become more comfortable with this scheme. The EIA/ES is too late in the process and the hybrid bills become too rigid. It is not criticism but failure to respond meaningfully which is jeapordising a real project with a questionable one.
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Rob Hill | 7 Nov 2011 3:22 pm
Whilst, as an engineer, I am excited by the idea of high speed rail in general and HS2 in particular. I simply cannot see any business case for this project. Even less can I see any environmental or "green" case. The idea of throwing large amounts of public money and extra energy at a project to enable a few people to reduce their journey times seems ridiculous. Britain has population centres relatively close together compared to many countries and this reduces any benefits of high speed rail. If, as HS2 claim, we displace passengers from domestic air travel, will the landing slots at Heathrow not be filled by more international flights? How does this fit with all the climate change arguments? Do we really think that we will be travelling to ever more business meetings in the future or will technology (video conferencing, etc.) reduce the need to travel?
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Phil Mortimer | 7 Nov 2011 4:43 pm
For the monies allocated it would be possible to electrify virtually the entire rail network and probably get gauge enhancement to W12. Now that really would be something that would create jobs, achieve modal transfer to rail and make the national transport system less dependent on oil. Our benighted politicians will all want their legacy projects but HS2 should not be it. The current proposals reinforce further concentration in the South East/West Midlands and overlay existing layers of rail modernization (WCML included) that other parts of the country are denied. Truly the lunatics have taken over the asylum and been granted the air and mineral rights to boot.
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Anonymous | 8 Nov 2011 2:24 pm
As a user of high speed trains in Europe, what I value is the reliability of the premium service, rather than simply the speed. This service quality is guaranteed by the prestige of the brands projecting the money spent in creating the fast lines. Because I can rely on the services, I make journeys that I would otherwise not take. I believe similar thinking will bring continental Europeans to the North in UK when we have HS2.
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