Great
Central Link to give new opportunities and create more relief routes south of
Rugby to London and beyond/orbital.
Phase 1: Could an operator be it Chiltern, East West Rail Company
or an-other/third party open to the proposition of rebuilding a new line from
the Calvert area (links to) along former GC trackbed corridor to a Park and Ride
(P&R) Station at Brackley which would act as a rail interchange head off
the A43 corridor (Northampton-Bicester/M40/Oxford)? It would require lowering
at gradient to the floor of the A43 which runs in a valley but at sufficient
height (embankment) to bridge the A43 at the eastern side portal to re-join old
GC alignment for Phase 2 to Rugby. Phase 1 would enable:
1.
Brackley to be
rail served. Expanding town and industrial estate/logistics area and A43
strategic corridor and Silverstone circuit satellite area.
2.
Commute to and
from London.
3.
Could also integrate
with East-West Rail for passenger services to Milton Keynes, Bedford and Oxford
4.
Offer freight by
rail to London or Oxford-Reading-Guildford-Cranleigh-Horsham-Gatwick-(new
curve) onto the Tonbridge -Ashford-Channel Tunnel line direct/London orbital options
and also from Oxford to Southampton and South West and vice versa audiences
including footfall and spend boosts to numerous local economies.
Phase 2. Rebuilding from Brackley to Rugby West Coast Station
would require realignment at Woodford Halse and from south of Willoughby to
Barby (new station maybe shared with Barby and Kilsby and likewise further
south Willoughby and Braunston). The new line would leave old GCML south of
Willoughby and cross over the WCML fast lines to either run down at gradient to
twin tracks alongside WCML and link into the Rugby WCML Station for integration
(passenger and freight access) or link onto or alongside the Northampton Loop
lines and have a direct link to the DIRFT complex.
The benefits
would be:
1.
Second London
Rugby route and West Coast Main Line and M1/M40 relief, capacity creation.
2.
New commuter
flows a new Park and Ride Station on the intersection of the A425 roughly half
way between Southam and Daventry both of which are growing towns but have no
direct rail access.
3.
Rugby-Oxford,
Aylesbury, Marylebone, Old Oak Common and integration for East-West Rail feed
and London orbital freight between Midlands and Channel Tunnel and all in
between.
Phase
3 to join the Leicester-Nuneaton
lines requires new construction with a new curve from the old Midland Line to
the GC alongside M1 new build/rebuild and gradient slope to join the
Leicester-Nuneaton lines. Freight can get to Derby and vice versa via Knighton
Junction, Burton and passenger services to Leicester and Nottingham and Derby
via Leicester. Benefits:
1.
Chiltern/South Midlands
to East Midlands Airport and vice versa direct by rail to a plethora of connectives
and outlets.
2.
Relief to
motorways and trunk roads and urban commuting congestion, cleaner air and
better balances.
3.
Saving
countryside, ensuring massive logistics warehouses can be located rail
connected more and thus giving more impetus for more freight by rail including
possible new flows/market share.
4.
4. Expanding
populations means we need to restore/new build some conventional lines. HS
lines don’t cater for large swathes of the heart of England and don’t cater for
more freight by rail as existing lines will want more passenger operations –
freight gets squeezed out/is assumed to go by roads – observe M1/M6 and A14 for
example.
Conclusion:
1.
Do we support a
phased approach or an ‘full on’ all-in approach or a mixture for ERTA?
2.
Whatever you may
wish for has to be balanced with what can give/take and the lie of the land on
the ground with creeping development, weak planning and lack lustre local
government will to put strategic rail corridors first in tailoring development
and protection terms, yes, they and we are under pressure – time, resource,
competition and so forth.
3.
Whatever we
decide, without major player backers we will not get very far, so that must be a
delegated meeting focus and endeavour. Organisations must take on, join, donate
or offer to resource/do/support or else it may not happen.
4.
What else?
R.B. Pill
23-04-2018
richard.erta@gmail.com
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