Wellingborough
is a difficult area whereby A45, Whitworths, The River Nene and an Industrial
Estate south side and besides the river, the arm which linked to the MML is
blocked with housing estates.
On Bedford-Northampton there is a sense we have been up hill and down numerous times. The article in the April edition of the Railway Magazine sums up where we are at, but Milton Keynes has two arms, one says “yes we want the railway” and the other says/allows a load of development to block the old route both sides of the A509 and puffing out northwards meaning that a realignment or bypass or new construction of about 5 miles may be necessary - we may have to leave Olney out and benefit from end to end timings. The town council show little faith or vision in the reopening and currently we are working with businesses for a Light Rail at the Northampton end and lobbying all 5 councils to get on board as a complimentary scheme to the core East-West Rail scheme.
On Great Central, our call is Oxford-Calvert area of east-west rail and a new spur onto GC metals and new bypass rail-wise of Brackley and onwards with a study to examine routes around and through and linking WCML in the Rugby area - a new route along criss-crossing the Canal corridor east of Willoughby/west of Barby with new station and linking via grade separated junction where the Northampton Loop Line bears off from the WCML main lines. North of Rugby alongside M1 with a new chord to link onto Nuneaton-Leicester with the route via Knighton-Burton helping as a wider freight relief whilst passenger links to Leicester and East Midlands heartlands. Likewise, the Banbury arm of the former link with GC is obliterated with development and M40 for example.
On Bedford-Cambridge, Whitehall have made it clear the new route is 'it' and will not be changed now. We are calling for junctioning at Tempsford with ECML for the benefits you reference including Peterborough-Oxford freight sweep. East of Tempsford/ECML is as is and understood. Yes, we are fairly flexible, as what is is what will be and if they bodge it up, at any rate half a railway will be better than none. Still leaves a freight by rail desert between North London line and Peterborough-Nuneaton lines - a considerable gap.
On Northampton-Market Harborough - yes, we support it. It could appear we want all reopenings, but Northampton radial links are a special case in point as it is a major logistics hub as per Milton Keynes, both of WCML, both on M1 as an urban attachment and yet both without direct rail links to East Anglia and Felixstowe for example. Local authorities commissioned a study for Northampton-Market Harborough and Network Rail were involved, but where it has got to now, notwithstanding lock-down, is not known to us. But the idea is Oxford-MK-Northampton-
Our association supports select others doing their campaigns in other areas and very much seek to fill gaps on the one hand and act as an enabling entity to empower others to get involved and indeed where suitable take a lead.
You are very welcome to join us or liaise or help out. Some are enthusiasts and that can run away with them, others look at evidence or seek to bring it about and resources are scarce. If you think you can work with us and find common ground, by all means. It is an 11th hour for some, many rebuilds/reopenings and we are lobbying Westminster to tighten up and incentivise Councils to protect old formations and realignment spaces - as yet PPG13 is a toothless tiger on the ground sadly. You may find our Blogspot of interest:
Our door is open and hope we can work together where we may agree. A Daventry West station on GC line is laudable, and would also act as a P&R for Southam via the A425. Some other documents can be found via our website publicity page: https://www.ertarail.
If someone did an article for Rail Magazine putting our views across and started a debate referencing us somehow, that would be a welcome thing, as we have had a blanket silence on our aims because of their polemics over HS2 and claims we want the whole GC rebuilt with knocking down premises galore through developed Leicester-Nottingham-Sheffield for example, which we have not proposed. If HS2 can bypassed Brackley using our route, a conventional line alongside with a station should also be studied in the frame, otherwise the area gets blight and intrusion of a high-speed line and no means to access it for benefit, which seems somewhat perverse.
A pity East-West Rail may not go south of Aylesbury? One wonders who makes these decisions, ditto ignoring our calls for a Retail Park Station serving the Kempston area south-west of central Bedford, 18, 000 population is Kempston Town and more out of centre parking is needed. Studies were done 20 years ago, but no-one locally seems to be keen to pursue it.
On Bedford-Northampton there is a sense we have been up hill and down numerous times. The article in the April edition of the Railway Magazine sums up where we are at, but Milton Keynes has two arms, one says “yes we want the railway” and the other says/allows a load of development to block the old route both sides of the A509 and puffing out northwards meaning that a realignment or bypass or new construction of about 5 miles may be necessary - we may have to leave Olney out and benefit from end to end timings. The town council show little faith or vision in the reopening and currently we are working with businesses for a Light Rail at the Northampton end and lobbying all 5 councils to get on board as a complimentary scheme to the core East-West Rail scheme.
On Great Central, our call is Oxford-Calvert area of east-west rail and a new spur onto GC metals and new bypass rail-wise of Brackley and onwards with a study to examine routes around and through and linking WCML in the Rugby area - a new route along criss-crossing the Canal corridor east of Willoughby/west of Barby with new station and linking via grade separated junction where the Northampton Loop Line bears off from the WCML main lines. North of Rugby alongside M1 with a new chord to link onto Nuneaton-Leicester with the route via Knighton-Burton helping as a wider freight relief whilst passenger links to Leicester and East Midlands heartlands. Likewise, the Banbury arm of the former link with GC is obliterated with development and M40 for example.
On Bedford-Cambridge, Whitehall have made it clear the new route is 'it' and will not be changed now. We are calling for junctioning at Tempsford with ECML for the benefits you reference including Peterborough-Oxford freight sweep. East of Tempsford/ECML is as is and understood. Yes, we are fairly flexible, as what is is what will be and if they bodge it up, at any rate half a railway will be better than none. Still leaves a freight by rail desert between North London line and Peterborough-Nuneaton lines - a considerable gap.
On Northampton-Market Harborough - yes, we support it. It could appear we want all reopenings, but Northampton radial links are a special case in point as it is a major logistics hub as per Milton Keynes, both of WCML, both on M1 as an urban attachment and yet both without direct rail links to East Anglia and Felixstowe for example. Local authorities commissioned a study for Northampton-Market Harborough and Network Rail were involved, but where it has got to now, notwithstanding lock-down, is not known to us. But the idea is Oxford-MK-Northampton-
Our association supports select others doing their campaigns in other areas and very much seek to fill gaps on the one hand and act as an enabling entity to empower others to get involved and indeed where suitable take a lead.
You are very welcome to join us or liaise or help out. Some are enthusiasts and that can run away with them, others look at evidence or seek to bring it about and resources are scarce. If you think you can work with us and find common ground, by all means. It is an 11th hour for some, many rebuilds/reopenings and we are lobbying Westminster to tighten up and incentivise Councils to protect old formations and realignment spaces - as yet PPG13 is a toothless tiger on the ground sadly. You may find our Blogspot of interest:
Our door is open and hope we can work together where we may agree. A Daventry West station on GC line is laudable, and would also act as a P&R for Southam via the A425. Some other documents can be found via our website publicity page: https://www.ertarail.
If someone did an article for Rail Magazine putting our views across and started a debate referencing us somehow, that would be a welcome thing, as we have had a blanket silence on our aims because of their polemics over HS2 and claims we want the whole GC rebuilt with knocking down premises galore through developed Leicester-Nottingham-Sheffield for example, which we have not proposed. If HS2 can bypassed Brackley using our route, a conventional line alongside with a station should also be studied in the frame, otherwise the area gets blight and intrusion of a high-speed line and no means to access it for benefit, which seems somewhat perverse.
A pity East-West Rail may not go south of Aylesbury? One wonders who makes these decisions, ditto ignoring our calls for a Retail Park Station serving the Kempston area south-west of central Bedford, 18, 000 population is Kempston Town and more out of centre parking is needed. Studies were done 20 years ago, but no-one locally seems to be keen to pursue it.
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