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“The reaction to our design has been absolutely amazing. We have been featured on BBC News and a major newspaper has described the design as the ‘Concorde of the track’.
The whole thing has just gone ballistic with coverage all over the world and the response has been fantastic. It has been really rewarding to get such positive feedback.”
One of the main concerns around the government’s investment in a high-speed rail network has been that it might only be of benefit to a small percentage of the population due to the perceived high cost of travelling on it once it is built. So does Paul feel that his design represents a train for the people?
“We have certainly designed a high-speed train for the people. It has been designed as a mass transit system with features taken from the last government’s reports including a double deck
Oct/Nov 10
which increases capacity by forty per cent on the same length of train.
“The design also incorporates both standard and first class, with the former offering a higher density of seating whilst providing a high quality interior.”
Paul says that he has drawn on his experience of designing aircraft interiors to provide him with fresh ideas to produce a high quality yet durable interior for his train design.
“I feel that our design is aimed both at families going on holiday and business people commuting or going to meetings. It is all about getting them out of their cars and out of the air and to do this you have to compete on the same level of quality and passenger experience when travelling.
“That is why we went for a far more modern and luxurious design which is at the same time extremely durable, maintainable and indeed possible.”
So has the government expressed any interest in Paul’s design?
“We are certainly knocking on the transport secretary’s door at the moment to arrange a meeting. After all, if Britain is going to meet its carbon reduction commitments, then we are going to have to do something about reducing traffic, both on the roads and in the air. I suppose this design is my contribution to that debate and a way of saying yes, this is possible.”
rtm37
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