This is intrisically laudable but misses Bedford out in article and substance of rail inclusive physical build.
Railfuture seems divided between progressive and reductionist camps on reopenings/rebuilds/type of new builds.
Our goal can be to welcome this north-south initiative but to stress:
1. There must be a through link between Chiltern Main Line - OOC- Heathrow-the Heathrow-Woking-Guildford line for Guildford-Northampton/Rugby (works until we get agreement for GCML restoration as a relief route bringing Daventry, Brackley and the new town of Calvert into re-railing and a new corridor in its own right.
2. Bedford. Bedford-Northampton. For Luton Airport and Cambridge. Bedford to be included in the track design and not bypassed. But it is debatable whether 2026 HS2 will mean more train paths on WCML - rather maybe some extra seats on existing services = a subtle difference. Thus the do-ability of Northampton-OCC beyond tokenism means that we need WCML relief lines - Bedford-Northampton-Bletchley looping and GCML south of Rugby some how. These must be priorities in discourses, emails and meetings in 2018. It is a critical phase. Yes, good something IS happening, good that SOMETHING is better than NOTHING, but it needs fine tuning and thinking through and the politicians seem to be ignorant of operational matters on existing lines beyond overcrowding and a development across the Oxbridge Arc of the size of Birmingham will exacerbate the capacity issues into London.
3. Again Cambridge-Bedford-Northampton would free up Felixstowe-West Midlands freight paths through MK Central for example creating paths - so we need MP's on side along BON corridor and common agreement along GCML south of Leicester and Rugby that GCML corridor must be saved over a 20 year period and this should be their policy and intent pursuant of transport. Anything less is a dereliction to plan for a mid 21st century transport and demographic crisis. Yes we'll be gone maybe by then, but none-the-less we can use it to invite support for our ERTA modest agendas!
Glossary:
OOC = Old Oak Common
WCML = West Coast Main Line
GCML = Great Central Main Line
BON = Bedford-Olney-Northampton
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