Destinations known | China, Japan – and now Indonesia – lead the charge on high-speed rail, while the UK, where the world’s first intercity trains ran, chugs along in their dust
- The Liverpool and Manchester Railway, which opened in 1830, was a world first. Today, the UK could learn from Asia about building high-speed rail links
- Meanwhile, a recent survey says it’s cheaper to stay in a hotel room than an Airbnb in many cities, pointing out a US$55 average saving in Hong Kong
In September 1830, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, designed and built by George Stephenson, launched the first intercity service in the world. It was financially successful, too, and was used as a model for railway construction across Britain.
Almost two centuries later, Stephenson and other British train pioneers and inventors – the likes of Richard Trevithick, Matthew Murray and William Hedley – must be turning in their graves, seeing the inability of the current British government to take the High Speed 2 (HS2) line all the way back to Manchester.
That followed the scrapping in 2021 of the leg that was planned to operate from Birmingham up to Leeds. Now, assuming no more cancellations, HS2 will run only between London and Birmingham, and be operational by … well, that’s anyone’s guess, but the wide time frame of 2029-2033 has been mentioned.
Meanwhile, Asia continues to show the Brits how high-speed rail – generally defined as having trains that travel at 200km/h (124mph) or more – is done.
