Lincolnshire Green? Dream on!

Lincolnshire Green? Dream on!

From early times in my voluntary rail campaigning career, it has been elements within the so-called ‘rail fraternity’ and ‘rail lobby’ who take it on themselves to go around talking about what can and cannot be done, what the limitations of rail ways (past), is (present) and may be (future). They have a can’t, don’t and won’t mentality. So on closures of the 1960’s for example, it happened, so cannot reopen with even existing tracks brought back to passenger use saying things like “I remain sceptical”. Many reopenings have happened since the mid 1980’s and trickling through, albeit with noticeable gaps beit funding, political focus or will and realities on the ground, which due to neglect are diverse as a jungle! 

The closures left some parts of the country more bereft than others and glaring gaps in the network exist. These ‘Jeremiah’s’ don’t just make a case for ‘can’t’ but also ‘don’t bother’. They and indeed the construe of a monster system, demand £50k studies before consideration (£40 billion roads budget by government is informed by government and those associated with roads, which command £million to spend). They demand trackbeds be 99% clear with bridges intact, if any is built on, lost or whatever, they insist “can’t be done” end of. 

Whatever you say, whatever you, a layman does, unless you have £millions to splash or are big business wearing the trousers, they dismiss your aspiration, you want, wish, hope and actions for public transport improvement as highly subjective to put it politely. I recall in 1986 some at a meeting in Milton Keynes saying things like “you’ll get Oxford-Milton Keynes as Bedford-Bletchley closes”, now these people are saying “the future of Bedford-Bletchley is bound up with East-West Rail!”. These patterns of negativity and weights on the campaigners’ shoulders, are multiplied nationwide sadly. Yes, there are the other extremes of High Speed it ‘the be-all’, hyperloop is the way ahead or unless £billions is budgeted for main-line standards, it is not going to work, get support, see the light of day. The sad thing is, from new stations (in some cases) to reopened lines, rebuilds and select new pieces of rail connectivity, as devil is in the detail, so these negatives become self-fulfilling prophecy. No money is another excuse from Whitehall, when £100 billion HS2 and £40 billion new roads can be found, so a matter of values, priorities and things versus people, places and inclusive values in practise, not just a P.R. ‘look-good’ presentational display.

 

So, we come to East Lincolnshire. We concur with some other campaigners, that the closure of the East Lincolnshire Line was a closure too far, ditto the March-Spalding Line. On Facebook and elsewhere, long discussions and heated debate of all and sunder of why rebuild or new build is never going to happen and yet, here is the rub; Lincolnshire County Council is engaged with Bypasses, Trunk Road Upgrades and road schemes left, right and centre across the whole county, whilst saying there’s no case or possibility of support for these rail-based aspirations? 

The absence of rail, means everything must go by road. The longer rail choice is denied, the more synthetic stats make a case for more roads spiralling upwards with land-take and congestion; so we are right in my view to plug rail within our meagre resources, to conjoin with other like-minds and demand rail, for modal choice and the environments/quality of life’s sake. Could for example a new alignment west of March to somewhere near west of Spalding be considered and done? You may not get into Grimsby via the old route, now assumed by the widened A16, but could an alternative be found which gives Grimsby a new rail link going south alongside the trunk road artery, reducing traffic and giving more options for people and goods? The Werrington Duck-under at Peterborough is good, but a long way round from Ely-Spalding to get to and from Doncaster. 

Lincoln needs more capacity for better passenger services. How do we get from negative introversion to positive solutions to major problems? We need to lobby MP’s and Councils to get on board, help round-table for pooling resources and courting funding for looking at solutions to re-railing challenges and progressing. We need Government to reform the system demands and do some homework for the sake of choice, communities and giving these relatively deprived areas a rail-fixed-asset life-line, literally. Modal shift is vital to cut emissions and Government has declared a Climate Emergency, so must have its bluff called at least, to take its words seriously. It is to be hoped as some of this may sink in, what of the future, that Lincolnshire can one day proudly underscore the word ‘Green’, not as a reference just to cloth colours, but sustainable transport and communities as well please. Let that be a 21^st Century Hallmark for Rail Lincs!

Enter discussions around this: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-61274952.amp What next? An extension encompassing a Louth Parkway Station? We rule nothing out.