Minutes of BEDFORD TRANSPORT FORUM – TUESDAY 7 NOVEMBER, 1.00pm

Minutes of BEDFORD TRANSPORT FORUM – TUESDAY 7 NOVEMBER, 1.00pm Social, 2.00pm – 4.00pm business, at The Pilgrims Progress, 42 Midland Road (near bus and railway stations), Bedford, MK40 1QB (usually near table 65 back of ground floor under the stairs). 

T. 01234 363751 E. richard.erta@gmail.com

1.       Apologies for absence: Simon Barber

2.       Notes from previous forum and matters arising/feedback:

Item 3. We have learnt only the main line section will be rebuilt to enable overhead lines for extension of electrification north of Bedford.

Item 4. No news on EWRL but continued clearance of vegetation keeps having to be done, delay is costing money.

Item 5. Bedford-Northampton:

Northampton Blitz early 2018 with meetings Saturday 24^th February at the Friends Meeting House (Quakers) School Room Quaker Meeting House, Wellington Street, Northampton NN1 3AS starting Saturday 24th February 1.30pm – 3.30pm. for Bedford-Northampton Rail Reopening Committee 1pm – all welcome.

Northampton conference Saturday 28 April 2018 from 9am-5pm at the Castle Hill United Reformed Church (upstairs/lift) Function Room), Doddridge Street, NORTHAMPTON NN1 2RN.

Market Stall and leafleting to kick in Jan-Feb to help boost presence, emails and letters will also go out.

3.       Bus Matters

No 40-withdrawal due to a lack of use and withdrawal of MK subsidy.

4.       Rail Matters: ERTA has the choice to either grow membership and allocate people top cover regional projects or knuckle down to more localised specialism like Bedford-Northampton scenario and related aspects. Great Central (Leicester-Nuneaton)-Calvert-Grendon needs complete rebuild/new build/backing, OOC-Heathrow direct to Woking Guildford (away from London contrast Crossrail) needs sorting and Guildford-Shoreham for Brighton likewise. Some bits are operational but 2/3 needs rebuild/new build so that’s 100 out of 150 miles approximately and can be done as one scheme or separate infills. Bedford-Northampton helps feed to and from Bedford-Cambridge (EWRL), M1 parallel end to end Northampton-Luton/Airport and vice versa and frees capacity/spare paths into/across and out of London and on the WCML at MK Central – critical for enabling EWRL, MVR, Southern and others access to and through MK Central which lacks adequate baying to accommodate them all with increasing frequency for multiple operational service providing with contra commute markets and other centric patterns, not just London. We applaud the reopening effort for the Dudding Hill Lines which will enable MML-GW/Southern transits for passenger services, London arcing centric but also Luton/Airport-Acton/Windsor or Reading for example ‘South Chiltern Link’. ERTA has long championed it.

5.       Bedford- Northampton: Needs more volunteers and a new webmaster. We are stretched and all can ask friends, family, local rail groups to join/affiliate/come to meetings/get involved/help us.

6.       Other related matters: XMAS BASH – TUESDAY 12 DECEMBER, 1pm – All very welcome.
If you would like to join us, so that bookings can be made, please let Richard know by 24 November – 01234 330090. Dragons, River Street, Bedford, MK40 1PX Tel 01234 328866/327778

7.       Day, Date, Time and Place of next Bedford Forum proposed as: Tuesday 30^th January 2018 1.00pm Social, 2.00pm – 4.00pm business, at The Pilgrims Progress, 42 Midland Road (near bus and railway stations), Bedford, MK40 1QB (usually near table 65 back of ground floor under the stairs). T. 01234 363751 E. richard.erta@gmail.com