In reply to winhill:
> (In reply to gethin_allen)
> [...]
>
> All the waits still add up, no matter where the train leaves from, the old city centre stations, like nottingham and sheff are time consuming to get to, so if you're going out of town it's a bonus, if you're visiting town, less so.
But if you are selling this scheme as a may of shaving 20 min off a trip to the north but you have to spend 30 min changing trains to get to the city centres, where most of the big businesses that are likely to want to cough up extra for a fast train service are, you may as well save the 30 odd billion pounds and not bother.
Take it, you want tot go to Sheffield. The slow train takes ~2:30 you catch a cab outside the station and for ~£5-10 in 10 min you are where you want to be, nice and simple. Or, you take the fast train takes 2:10 but it dumps you in Meadowhall and you wait 10 min for a tram on a dank dingy platform then spend 15 min on a tram that doesn't take you exactly to your destination, which if you were visiting a new unfamiliar city could be a problem.