ERTA News and Views - Please give us your support and join in with us

Greetings. The recent panic buying at petrol stations, whatever the fears or risks of to do or not to do, underscores that as a nation we are hopelessly dependent on fossil fuels and road-based transport for EVERYTHING! This must change for fairness, balance, choice, freedom as well as good environmental well being. Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Transport talked much in the early days of this government of 'Reversing Beeching' Agendas and yet, unlike Dr Beeching, we see no plan nationwide. We have at best dribs and drabs, a smattering here alongside making the existing network work-able; but no grand scale reopenings, rebuilds and select new-build of a local-conventional passenger and freight capable rail link network to fill gaps. Borders Railway carried over 3 million people in its first years and has proven a success - a long siding serving mainly rural areas with scant stations - bucked many models and predictions! It need to be block replicated elsewhere across the nations and regions, but alas, whilst Government finds money for carbon dioxide and £27 billion for new roads, the reopenings agenda is absent from debate in many cases, when in practical terms it needs moving from icing on the cake to capstone absolute foundational necessity. Some may find this article interesting: https://www.newstatesman.com/uncategorized/2017/08/new-age-train

On other fronts as follows:

1. If any are willing to assist in working up diagrams from rough to look pretty and be ascetically coherent for our use, please let me know. Every diagram must include a key, our current website, a date and my email for further information. The programme we use is Microsoft Visio If interested in trialling, please let me know as we seek to build our support teams.

2. ERTA Zoom Conference: Details via our web page: https://ertarail.co.uk/conference-2021/ Please encourage others to take an interest. We have a good line up of speakers and a good networking opportunity.

3. All other events are on our events page: https://ertarail.co.uk/events/

4. ERTA has invested in some leaflets and is progressively doing from Calvert to Rugby along the old Great Central corridor as well as urban Guildford. Bedford will be done at a later stage, beit October or 1st March 2022 when weather starts to pick up again! Any offers to help, please let us know. Reliability is key. Door-2-door is what we seek for consistency of targeted area cover. Flexibility and ability to negotiate, always valuable qualities.

5. We want to build our Westminster Team, if interested, please contact Mr Simon Barber: Simon Barber <simon4barber@gmail.com> You may wish to write to your own MP/email: Look them up on this site: https://members.parliament.uk/members/Commons If we can get MP's supportive, they in turn can help bridge and get councils and Government interested and then chances to progress are that bit better. No panacea, but way to go from a small band such as we. We have about 35 members, and ERTA is only as effective as our members enable/inform. In crude terms, it could be this: Work for a living? Donate, Unemployed? Volunteer Time! Somewhere between the two and retired younger people, there's probably something for everyone to assist, be part of a team and work towards leadership by example of what you can do/offer rather than opt outs or excuses.

6. I believe ERTA is making progress. We campaign grassroots upwards and that top-down is even talking about these agendas as a reality possibly, is credit and kudos to ours and select others' labours over the years. Like it or loathe it, East-West Rail is winding its way from Bicester to Bletchley and Bedford and discussions remain on routes for East of Bedford. You may find this consultation of interest: https://placebuilder.io/futureofthearc Question is, are there similar consultations going on in your area which you could flag our causes and case more? Please do and again copy us in and/or write/email your council and MP and if such still exists, local media outlets/newspapers!

7. We have long supported a rebuilt Matlock-Buxton/Chinley rebuild of a railway for Derby-Manchester direct rail access and give more rail-based access to the southern Peak District. Please give your moral support at least: https://www.matlockmercury.co.uk/news/transport/plans-to-reopen-train-line-between-buxton-and-matlock-gain-traction-3395854