ERTA calls for the rebuilding of a Harrogate-Ripon-Northallerton Rail Link for Local and Regional use.

ERTA calls for the rebuilding of a Harrogate-Ripon-Northallerton Rail Link for Local and Regional use.

As the Northern Powerhouse and Transport for the North gear up and talk a great talk on ‘infrastructure’, we wish to draw their attention that local rail links matter and restoring some closed lines like the strategic missing link between Harrogate, Ripon and Northallerton could offer local solutions at much less cost than High Speed links which at £billions will probably draw talent to commute to London and still leave intermediate communities congested, polluted and disenfranchised from decent fixed rail infrastructure. Making existing lines as robust as can be is desirable, but correcting the past mistake of stealthy line closures implemented in the 1960’s and 1980’s went too far and has locked in road dependency. Car ownership is a cost and responsibility. Likewise, freight by roads takes up space, pounds structures and old buildings and creates an eyesore. It is the conviction of ERTA that we need to rectify and give people and freight more choices than just locked-in road dependency.

Other benefits the local rail could offer:

1. Reduced traffic on the A61 and associated parking in urban areas increased traffic brings.

2. Sustainable footfall and spend in local historic and beauty spot outlets minus traffic.

3. Underpin employment, healthy local economies, offer commuting options to and from main centres.

4. Link the North-South Main Lines of East Coast and Midland Main Lines as well as associated regions.

If you agree with the proposal to proceed with a consideration at least of rebuilding this important local and regional missing rail link and piece of infrastructure, you may wish to write giving support to the following (this list is not exhaustive):

1. Mr Barry White, Chief Executive, Transport for the North, c/o 4 Piccadilly Place, Manchester, M1 3BN T. 0161 244 0888 E. parliamentarycorrespondance@transportforthenorth.com

2. Chief Executive and Council, North Yorkshire County Council, County Hall, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL7 8AD T. 01609 780780

3. Chief Executive and Council, Harrogate Borough Council: c/o Customer Service Centre is at Civic Centre, St Lukes Avenue, Harrogate HG1 2AE E. customerservices@harrogate.gov.uk

T. 01423 500600

4. Andrew Jones MP, Harrogate and Knaresborough, 57 The Parade, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 5LQ Telephone: 01423 529614/Email: andrew.jones.mp@parliament.uk

5. Rishi Sunak MP, Richmond Constituency, Unit 1, Omega Business Village, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DN6 2NJ E Telephone: 01609 765330/Email: rishi.sunak.mp@parliament.uk

6. Julian Smith MP, Skipton and Ripon Constituency, Conservative Association, Churchill House, 19 Otley Street, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 1DY E. julian.smith.mp@parliament.uk T. 01756 792 092

7. Clerk and Council, Ripon City Council, Ground Floor, Town Hall, Market Place South, Ripon, HG4 1DD T. 01765 604097 E. admin@riponcity.gov.uk

ERTA now has its 3 main publications for sale as either hard copy or pdf downloads on our excellent sales page on our website: https://ertarail.com/sales/

Great Central Re-Rail Corridor Recovery Needed Now!

Great Central Corridors: The English Regional Transport Association facilitates Forums in various places to enable people to tap into a meeting, make common cause and turn from looking inwards to what the executive can offer to being the answer to what is needed themselves as willing volunteers.

We are thin on the ground personnel-wise. We are committed to holding Forums in Aylesbury, Rugby and Leicester – subject to demand and supply of people responding to the opportunity afforded and choosing to join, get involved and take a pro-active interest. Failure to respond, means we are limited in what we can do. The principle of reopening the Great Central Corridor are laid out in our report: https://ertarail.com/sales/ where you can buy a pdf download, gem up and by all means come back with questions but also be prepared to be part of the answer. Key areas we need people to beaver away are:

1. Join ERTA yourself and work with us as part of a team.

2. We need trackbed watchers all along the line between Narborough-Rugby via Lutterworth and south of Rugby along the Canal corridor to Willoughby and south through to Brackley and south thereof to Calvert and the spur land use potential for direct Oxford and yonder running vice versa.

3. We need people to make business cases and work at getting the case made up to acceptance by Network Rail’s GRIP process and at the Department for Transport (DfT).

4. We need people to object to planning applications and blockage threats, places like Woodford Halse are out in the sticks to non-car drivers like us, we need you to be our ears and eyes and report back.

5. We welcome people with time or talent or both to take pictures, monitor locations, lead and go with others to take delegated meetings with councils to win over to the principle of corridor re-railing, that is the goal and ticket, and can always be upgraded once established.

Guildford-Horsham-Shoreham Rail Reopening Group ~ Part of ERTA

Horsham Public Meeting – 
Reopen the Guildford-Horsham-Shoreham Railway for local benefit.

The meeting is open to all and is to be known as 
‘Guildford-Horsham-Shoreham Rail Re-opening Group’ 
Please give support and help build the consensus for the rebuild of the local, conventional rail link to serve and link communities together for the benefit of all, cutting congestion, freeing up parking spaces, bringing footfall and spend to areas.

Day/Date: Saturday 7^th September, 

Time: 2pm-4pm

Place: Horsham Unitarian Church, Worthing Rd, Horsham RH12 1S

(adjacent to local bus station with regular buses with the local railway station)

Purpose:

Ø    To bring people together

Ø    To grow support and recruit members to ERTA for wider good

Ø    To allocate roles and responsibility for covering the various facets the project presents

Ø    To appoint volunteers as helpers to act as local coordinators to ensure the smooth, principled and consistent goals are adhered to.

A mini outline report may be produced in due course as a sales/introductory tool. Clearly any volunteers or contributors welcome to entertain.

https://ertarail.com/events/ or T. 0208 940 4399

On Saturday 22nd June 2019 some 12 people came together at the local Wetherspoons in Horsham to discuss the prospect of rebuilding a Guildford-Horsham-Shoreham Rail Link. Whilst many have varying views and ideas of preference, the ERTA line is and must be to plum for a conventional railway rebuild with deviations where blockages exist such as Cranleigh for example. The process requires on the one hand a dedicated trackbed watch and orchestration to protect the route with access at both ends to existing lines and lands to ensure deviation where blockages may exist are kept clear. The rail link could offer the following (by no means exhaustive list!): Ø    A quick and handy local connection between two large and developing towns and intermediate expanding populations. Ø    Local commuting for work, school, shopping and wide travel by rail Ø    It would relieve the Brighton main line and free up capacity/reduce overcrowding.

Ø    A fast, flexible choice to car reliance and contributor to free up parking spaces for others, reduce congestion and associated air pollution Ø    Horsham – Shoreham ‘South Downs’ Link giving direct access from points north, east and west of Guildford to Brighton et al and vice versa Ø    Access between Reading/Guildford and Horsham/Crawley and approach Gatwick from the south Ø    Access for the Horsham and connections lines to Guildford and Heathrow for example, with or without an extra runway! Our basic aims are: Ø    Build local support and consensus that the rebuild is a good thing and grow support for it to be done sooner than later. Ø    Appoint Local Area Reps. To cover both the Guildford and Horsham ends of the line and interim (ideally someone for Cranleigh or group) who attend the various Forums and meetings and liaise with ERTA core team. Ø    Get local MP’s and Councils on board to form consortia and pool resources/apply with other agencies for study funds to tick all required boxes!

ERTA's Message to Politicians and Public

The English Regional Transport Association (ERTA) is a voluntary assoication advocating and calling on Government to start and continue to mainstream a rolling programme of local, conventional railway line reopenings. Basically the closures of local and duplicate lines in the 1960's went too far and today glaring gaps exist. This a. stifles railways ability to compete with other transport modes namely roads and b. the railways lack the capacity to carry all the people and freight that could be taken by rail. 

The recent success of the rebuilt Borders Railway between Edinburgh and Tweedbank shows what can be achieved and if the English side played fairly and rebuilt from Carlisle to the Scottish Border, a through route could do far more. Alas it is the English side which is the weakest link x the English Regions.

The recent Extinction Rebellion acts as a wake up call on climate change and bedevilments like congestion, air pollution, accidents and waste of time, fuel and efficiency mount up to £billions lost every year and if we are to inform cutting these 'bads' we need to re-rail the country and incentivise modal shift back from road to rail and support businesses which club together and bid for modal shift to be built into their logistics and transport designs. A rolling programme of reopenings would give a green light to local authorities and consortias to work up schemes and make submissions for delivery more. Currently there is a strong feeling of stifling, stagnation and fobbing off with high sided business case rules and study costs but no delivery at the other end for those who do prolongingly jump through the hoops whilst at the same time £billions are wasted on road renewal and expansion for more of the blight they deliver especially to urban areas where land allocations are finite between parking, road space, accommodation and employment for example.

https://ertarail.com/events/