Jul52017

China to build world’s most challenging railway

East Asia

Breathtaking scenery and breathtaking dangers — both will face Chinese engineers as they embark on building the world’s most difficult railway.

The Sichuan-Tibet Railway will be the second railway into southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region after the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. The line will go through the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, one of the world’s most geologically active areas.

“The construction and operation of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway must overcome the biggest risks in the world,” said You Yong, chief engineer of the Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), who is leading a scientific and technological support team to avoid disasters in the mountains.

China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co. Ltd., which is designing the line, said it will run from Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province, through Ya’an and Kangding, and enter Tibet via Qamdo. It will then go through Nyingchi and Shannan prefectures before arriving at Lhasa, capital of Tibet. The total construction length will be about 1,700 kilometers and it will cost 250 billion yuan (about 36.88 billion U.S. dollars)

Xia Lie, a senior engineer at China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group, described it as a huge “roller coaster” through risky terrain of mountains and canyons.

It will go through eight ascents and descents, and more than 80 percent of the line will be tunnels and bridges.

“The cumulative ascent of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway will exceed 16,000 meters, which is equivalent to double the height of Qomolangma, the world’ s highest mountain,” said Xia.

“It will be the most difficult super project in railway construction history.”

Construction has begun on the two ends of the railway. The section between Chengdu and Ya’an is expected to open in June 2018. The feasibility study on the section between Ya’an and Kangding has been completed. The section between Lhasa and Nyingchi is under construction.

However, the section from Kangding to Nyingchi — the most difficult and the longest section — is still under design. Its construction is expected to begin in 2019 and could take about seven years, said Xia.

The Sichuan-Tibet Railway will be a major line in the western China rail network, connecting Tibet and more developed central and eastern regions. The design speed is from 160 kilometers per hour to 200 kilometers per hour. On completion, the travel time by train from Chengdu to Lhasa will be cut from 48 hours to about 13 hours.

You Yong, who has spent almost 30 years studying mountain hazards, said the line will traverse the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which has sharp changes in terrain.

It will go over 21 snow-capped mountains more than 4,000 meters high and cross 14 major rivers. The region is full of steep slopes and deep valleys, You said.

The active geological structure of the region causes strong earthquakes. The railway will go through earthquake zones such as the Longmen Mountain and Yarlung Zangbo River seismic belts, You said.

You said the Sichuan-Tibet Railway has four major environmental characteristics: significant terrain elevation differences, strong plate activities, frequent mountain disasters, and a sensitive ecological environment.

Mountain hazards were a major challenge. “The regions along the Sichuan-Tibet Railway have the most developed, most active, most diverse and most serious mountain hazards in China,” You said.

Scientists point out that the dangers along the railway route include landslides, debris flows, and snow and ice damage. The landslides mainly happen in the alpine gorges of the Hengduan Mountains and southeastern Tibet.

Southeastern Tibet and western Sichuan have many glaciers, which are sensitive to global climate change. Melting ice and snow causes devastating bursts of glacier lakes and debris flows, said Chen Xiaoqing, deputy director of the Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment of the CAS.

“Constructing a railway in such a complicated geological environment will face a lot of scientific and technological difficulties. And the prevention and control of mountain hazards will be key to its success,” said You.

The CAS began in 2014 to analyze the mountain hazard distribution patterns and risks, and experiment on disaster prevention along the route.

To date, scientists have identified the basic distribution and activities of mountain hazards, and set up a data bank for the hazards along the route.

Based on analysis of the risks, researchers offered their advice on the route selection and technologies to prevent and control the landslides and debris flows.

The government is also planning to build an expressway connecting Sichuan and Tibet. The scientific findings will also be applied in that construction.

Experts say the railway and expressway will push forward the opening up and economic development of Tibet.

Jul52017

News story: Government launches transport investment plan for Britain

HM Government
  • new strategy sets how transport investment can deliver a stronger, fairer Britain
  • in good news for motorists, plans include the creation of the ‘Major Road Network’ with access to a multi-billion pound road fund, funded by Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), for improvements such as bypasses
  • strategy sets out the need for future projects to show how they contribute to creating a more balanced economy

Local roads are set to benefit from a share in a multi-billion pound improvement fund as part of a landmark investment strategy unveiled by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling.

The Transport investment strategy sets out a new long-term approach for government infrastructure spending — meaning cash will be targeted at projects that help rebalance the economy.

And it features the proposed creation of a new major road network, which would see a share of the annual National Road Fund, funded by VED, given to local authorities to improve or replace the most important A roads under their management.

The plans aim to improve productivity and connectivity of towns and cities across the country — tackling bottlenecks and traffic jams for road users, and taking away the misery of lorries and through-traffic thundering through rural villages on main roads.

The scheme will also aim to help people get to work or school by better connecting towns and cities, unlock land for new homes, and improve business links — forming a crucial strand of the government’s strategy to rebalance the economy by ensuring wealth is spread across the UK and not just concentrated in the south-east of England.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said:

Getting transport spending right is crucial for the country’s future.

The transport investment strategy sets out a blueprint for how we can harness the power of transport investment to drive balanced economic growth, unlock new housing projects, and support the government’s modern industrial strategy.

This government is taking the big transport decisions for Britain’s future like HS2 and Heathrow, while delivering the biggest investment in roads and rail for a generation.

At the heart of our approach is a plan to make transport work for the people who use it and for the wider economy.

The strategy sets out how investment can deliver a stronger, fairer Britain — with priority for projects which cut congestion, support growth, boost Britain’s global competitiveness or unlock new housing.

The proposals for the major road network respond to the Rees Jeffreys Road Fund study last year, which highlighted the disparity between the funding and planning of Britain’s motorways — the strategic road network — and local authority A roads.

The new plans mean that main roads currently overseen by local authorities would share the VED funded National Roads Fund which was previously envisaged to be ring-fenced for national routes. UK VED was £5.8 billion for 2016-17.

The ‘Transport investment strategy’ also plans for a new ‘rebalancing’ measure, which will judge how investment programmes contribute to a more balanced economy, and prioritises investment that increases productivity or growth, supports new housing, improves reliability and tackles congestion. Investment should support every part of the country, and, where needed, fast track smaller schemes that are proven solutions so passengers and drivers get the benefits more quickly.

It is set to form a vital part of the modern industrial strategy and builds on the progress made in recent years of upgrading the road and rail network. The government is investing more than £61 billion over the 5 years to 2020-21 and has already taken big decisions on transformational projects like HS2 and announced our preference for a new runway at Heathrow.

The transport investment strategy sets out why investing in transport infrastructure matters and the priorities for future investment. Under 4 separate themes, it sets out propositions to guide future transport investment decision making.

Ensuring our investment consistently meets the needs of users and helps to create a balanced economy

  • we will prioritise:
    • reliability and congestion
    • economic growth
    • UK competitiveness
    • housing
  • investment should support every part of the country, including taking account of the balance of spending between different regions

Getting best value out of the network and our investment

  • prioritising value for money
  • getting the most from existing assets
  • continuing to seek contributions from those who stand to benefit to support transport funding
  • attracting more private finance

Maintaining a resolute focus on delivery

  • prioritising predictable funding and a stable long-term pipeline of projects
  • ensuring all schemes considered for funding take a pragmatic approach to delivery challenges
  • where appropriate, prioritising smaller schemes which deliver quickly

Adaptability in the face of change

  • where there is uncertainty, we will prioritise projects that are adaptable to change
  • putting the UK at the forefront of new transport technology

Jul52017

Statement to Parliament: Transport investment strategy

HM Government

We have made significant progress in realising our ambitious plans for transport infrastructure, built on the investment of over £61 billion in the 5 year period to 2021. We have taken big decisions on transformational projects like HS2 and our preferred option for a new runway at Heathrow, and are part way through delivering major investment programmes to maintain and upgrade our road and rail networks.

I am today (5 July 2017) publishing a Transport investment strategy, setting out how we will build on that progress and – through the investment decisions we go on to take – how we will respond realistically and pragmatically to today’s challenges and deliver a transport network that works for everyone.

The decisions we take now will shape the transport network for decades to come and help to determine the contribution that transport can make to our national success and wellbeing. The ‘Transport investment strategy’ describes:

  • what we are trying to achieve through our investment in transport infrastructure
  • the priorities and propositions that will guide future investment decisions
  • the institutional frameworks within which those decisions will be taken
  • the actions we are taking to help meet our ambitions

I want our investment to:

  • create a more reliable, less congested and better connected transport network that works for the users that rely on it
  • build a stronger, more balanced economy by enhancing productivity and responding to local growth priorities
  • enhance our global competitiveness by making Britain a more attractive place to trade and invest
  • support the creation of new housing

As we shape and deliver the balanced investment programmes that deliver these objectives, we will be guided by a set of priorities and propositions that put the needs of transport users at the heart of decision making, whilst getting the best value out of the network and our investment, retaining a resolute focus on delivery and remaining adaptable in the face of change.

As part of the strategy I am announcing my intention to launch a consultation on the creation of a new Major Road Network (MRN) for the most important local authority A roads. This would mirror the success of the Strategic Road Network which has created planning and funding certainty for motorways and major dual carriageways, and would mean our most important local authority A roads were actively planned and managed to deliver a better service for drivers. As part of this consultation, we will make proposals to allocate a proportion of the National Roads Fund to the MRN.

I am also determined that, through our investment, we should go further in helping to raise prosperity and productivity across the country. In the Industrial strategy green paper, the government committed to taking account of the balance of spending per head between different regions. In addition, we will develop a new assessment standard that will require transport investment programmes to be judged on how they contribute towards the creation of a more balanced economy, as part of the assessment of their strategic case.

I have placed copies of the document in the libraries of both Houses.

Government launches transport investment plan for Britain press release, 5 July 2017.

Jul52017

How do we raise more tax revenue?

John Redwood MP

Some of you will be pleased and others unhappy to learn that today’s question is one of the most common in the modern media and even amongst some MPs.

There are two easy answers. The best way to get more tax revenue is to grow the economy.
The best way to get more money from companies and the rich is to lower the rates of tax they pay.

As I have often argued, cutting the Corporation Tax rate from 28% in 2010 to 19% today has taken place against a background of a substantial increase in company tax revenue. We collected 55% more last year at 19% than they did at 28% in 2009-10. Some say this is the Laffer effect – lower rates lead to more tax. Some say it is a coincidence. No-one can say cutting the rates has led to a decline in tax revenue in the way Treasury models and others suggest.

Cutting the top rate of Income tax from 50% to 45% has also led to an increase in revenue from the higher paid. In the early 2010s we collected £2bn less in self assessed income tax with a top rate of 50% than the government collected at 40% before. Revenue rose by 15% with a cut in the rate to 45%. When in the 1980s the then Conservative government cut the rate from 83% to 40% in two steps, there was a surge in extra money from the better off. They paid more in cash terms, they paid more in real terms, and they paid a bigger proportion of the Income Tax total.

The reason all this works? Entrepreneurs, rich savers and companies are footloose. They only need come, or only need stay, if tax rates are competitive. They need only invest and spend in places where the rates make sense to them. When the UK had 83% tax there was a Brain drain. Many talented people from pop stars to businessmen went abroad to avoid the tax rates.

Capital Gains tax collected 23% less than forecast when the rate was hiked to 28% from 18%. There was a loss of revenue in 2012-13 and 2013-14 with the higher rate, contrary to Treasury model predictions.

So to raise more revenue we need to change the Treasury model to make it more accurate, by accepting that some taxes are at rates above their revenue maximising levels.

The Treasury have a very poor forecasting record on revenues. Remember they had to hike their forecast for 2016-17 tax receipts by £10.5bn between the November forecast and the March forecast in the year in question!

Jul52017

Measures to Implement the Russian President’s Executive Order on Extending Certain Special Economic Measures to Ensure the Security of the Russian Federation

Russia

The ban on the import of certain categories of agricultural products, raw materials and food has been extended from 1 January until 31 December 2018.

Reference

The document was prepared in keeping with the Russian President’s Executive Order No 293 of 30 June 2017 on Extending Certain Special Economic Measures to Ensure the Security of the Russian Federation.

The directive approves amendments to Government Resolution No 778 of 7 August 2014 on Measures to Implement the Russian President’s Executive Orders No 560 of 6 August 2014, No 320 of 24 June 2015 and No 305 of 29 June 2016.

The ban on the import of certain categories of agricultural products, raw materials and food from the US, EU member countries, Canada, Australia, Norway, Ukraine, Albania, Montenegro, Iceland and Liechtenstein has been extended from 1 January until 31 December 2018.

These restrictions are designed to expand the special economic countermeasures against certain states based on the extent of their involvement in the sanctions regime against Russia.