ERTMS does not work.You're not wrong, they should have rolled out ERTMS which allows trains to run much closer together. If they had implemented that on the West Coast Mainline and East Coast they could have increased capacity by a good 30% at much lower cost.
It does, they just dont have the balls to roll out Level 3 because of the impact on the workforce. No track circuits to maintain, no lineside signals and deskilling the driver. Yes there is a cost to modifying existing trains, and it will take time but you can operate level 3 in a hybrid way with existing track circuits (as overlay) until all vehicles are retrofitted.ERTMS does not work.
Delaying passes the poison chalice of a badly thought out and costed failing project to the next government.What does delaying actually achieve ? It saves money in year but the longer it goes on increases the overall spend because of inflation not to mention the marching army of designers who will need to be retained. And thats before, if you believe the figures, the lost opportunity cost for businesses and communities along the route.