Chris (Rail Focus)

@Bob587966092344 @amironburgundy @JamesMelville Way off millions then 😅. A meaningless amount even in terms of the Strait of Hormuz, never mind world output

@amironburgundy @EngFocus @JamesMelville plant capacity to handle produced fluids is actually 63,000 design

Britain's largest oil field, Rosebank, could be producing millions of barrels a day by the autumn if Ed Miliband gives a green light to its plans. It’s time for Miliband to ditch his net zero claptrap and end his counterproductive ban on new North Sea oil and gas licenses.

@RailNutter But the price of fuel is a nice narrative for Reform to push.

@EngFocus Climate change deniers are a small percentage of the electorate. They are probably all Reform supporters already. This kind of tactic is unlikely to win the right new support.

This probably isn't going to be a viral post, but judging by the comments people believe it. Even though with a cursory Google it can be disproved. It's frustrating how quickly lies proliferate and even when challenged with the facts, by that time, people are like "so what"

@NitrocelluloseD Seems so. The wider scheme did have merit and local benefits. But the tunnel was just too much of a contentious issue for a weak government

@EngFocus i am more suspicious it got so far and stopped. that meant viable scheme but cowardly politicians right?

Makes the #HS2 "bat Tunnel" seem like a bargain now doesn't it. Certainly puts things into perspective.

@RailNutter Climate change deniers typically tend to be right wing. So they're using this also as a way to attack Ed and the Labour party. 2 birds 1 stone, GB News gets to attack Labour and keep oil giants happy, which is important as GB News' biggest investor also has a big stake in oil.

@EngFocus It is an attempt to stop the push towards green energy. Yet green energy is much easier to bring on stream than new oil production and once available it frees us from being held to ransom by dodgy oil states. But yea, you might have to switch from a petrol car to an electric one

@RailNutter True, but StopHS2 was only ever really a nuisance. But it has since been supercharger and used to great effect by people with much more sinister motives. The 'just pup oil' argument is just a thinly disguised way to push people further towards the right.

@EngFocus With all your experience of HS2 antis, it still surprises you that made up nonsense circulates on social media?

🛤️ Busy week on site between Newport and Cardiff. We’re halfway through essential upgrades to improve safety and reliability on the South Wales Main Line. 👷We have 150 colleagues on site every day helping to: 🔧replace 6 sets of points 🛤️lay 1,120 tonnes of track stone 🚧Railway closed 21–22 March #MoreThanARailway #NetworkRail #Cardiff #Newport

@GarethDennis @kitchentowel @LBC I think the main frustrations are that the Government a) thought nothing of binning a £100m design and b) thought spending another £100m+ on a new design would save any money in the long run.

@EngFocus @kitchentowel @LBC remember: development and design should cost 20% of capital costs for a successful project it's that the money here is being spent in lieu of political decision making

Stonehenge tunnel officially scrapped - after more than £179,000,000 spent on plan lbc.co.uk/article/stoneh…

@SmithysTP @tfwrail Which makes the placement of the pillar even more stupid.

@EngFocus @tfwrail A sales point on the other side (I presume you mean facing towards the toilet) is daft though when the queue line is into the concourse? You'd have to shout loudly to get the next customer. Sales points should logically be adjacent to each other surely?

Okay, so I'm not convinced by the design , but it does look more welcoming and functional than the old ticket office. @tfwrail what are the plans for the now closed ticket office? #Chester

@SmithysTP @tfwrail There's another sales point on the other side. But looking at it, they could get 3-4 staff members behind there. But that stupid pillar is a weird choice.

@EngFocus @tfwrail I'm confused why they put a TFW logo on the front of the counter though when it's just hidden by the pillar infront of it. Is there only 1 salespoint too? As for plans for the closed office, apparently they wanted to combine with the adjacent bookies to make a station shop.

@kitchentowel @GarethDennis @LBC I did some sums the other week and £100m only pays for around 250 people on £100ph (going rate for an architect) for 2 years. So it is possible to see where the money goes. But £100m-200m is still a staggering amount just for planning.

@EngFocus @GarethDennis @LBC

Also a significant scaffold structure being erected

@GarethDennis @LBC So with the abandoned Euston design that's close to £300,000,000 just completely squandered.

@LBC consultancy laughing all the way to the bank

Renewed calls to reopen Cheshire line to passenger traffic railmagazine.com/news/renewed-c…

@DuncanStott Probably a lot more if you include land purchase and exploratory work

@EngFocus What's the equivalent figure for the cancelled phases of HS2?

Light at the end of the tunnel in HS2's Euston saga bit.ly/4sOcZWi

ScotRail confirms Class 222 leasing deal to enable withdrawal of HSTs bit.ly/4dCNwuu