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Hst-2
Virtually all the parts of HST-2 are in operation. It requires a Co-Co electro-diesel locomotive hauling a new build of Mark 4 coaches. These were built for 140mile/h as IC225 (km/h). There are plenty of Eurostar articulated sets.
There is a mass production factory available with all the necessary skills at Longbridge.
The only thing wrong with the Mark 3 are the slam doors (the solution is fitted to the Wessex Electrics), the dump-to-track lavatories and the absence of a door between the buffet counter and the gangway. There is no reason to abandon the droplight windows. As Virgin Voyagers painfully demonstrate "if it works don't fix it!"
The Class 43 locos, Class 91 locos, Mark 3 coaches and Mark 4 coaches are all plug-compatible, as amply demonstated during ECML electrification. The 43hauled where wires were dead or missing.
Let us now stand back and watch the Department for Road Congestion mandarins spend the budget and achieve nothing for the next five years. Then award the contract to a notoriously high-cost supplier.
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