@Tim Worstall:
As you appear to be taking requests, I'd like you to explain why it costs so bloody much to build anything in the UK.
I ask because the Swiss have built the Gotthard Base Tunnel for about £6bn. (including the fiddly bits at each end to connect it to the existing networks), while HS2's first phase (to Birmingham) – roughly 100 miles through relatively easy terrain – is priced at almost *three times* that amount, despite not having a major mountain range to contend with.
I've noticed that road-building is also very poor value for money. The recently opened Hindhead Tunnel (on the A3) cost £371 million to build and was extensively covered in the national news, yet the Swiss and Italians point and laugh at such a piffling little project. Both countries build such tunnels as a matter of routine, even on relatively minor roads, and they cost a bloody sight less than £155K per metre!
Biting the hand that feeds IT
