ERTA Brighton Forum addressing better rail issues along South Coast and South East

 Dear All,

I attach our agenda for the Brighton Forum. If we get more than 8 we may upgrade to a Quaker Room. Please notify Mr Simon Barber in advance: E. simon4barber@gmail.com  or 

0208 940 4399 if you or an-other wish to attend. 

ERTA relies on people to join and attend. We need to grow a group of new volunteers to take these projects on and make progress with them. Unlike some others who pontificate long and hard, we are not a social beer gathering, rather we seek to roll up sleeves and engage for improvements. Campaigning gets things done, which may be while so many quangos are contracted to not do it, but at cost trade reports, host conferences and churn out high-sounding views, but lack the local connecting rods to bring delivery to fruition in a timely manner. Development has become a fact of life. Main Lines are at capacity, so most will go by roads informing more congestion unless we improve our local rail connectivity and make a determined effort to nurture expansion and capacity on our rails for more and better. 

2050 is leaving things too little, too late and still the government and agencies advocate more roads?!

The closure of local station ticket offices, threatens to disenfranchise many non-digital rail users, a counter-intuitive step, if we wish for traffic reduction and a better environment/public health deal? 

Please engage with the consultation:  

https://www.transportfocus.org.uk/ticket-office-consultation/ 

Yours sincerely,

Richard Pill

ERTA CEO

ERTA Brighton Forum (moving the agenda on for South East and South Coast areas for rail).
Saturday 19th August 1pm food, 2pm-4pm business. Upstairs at The Post and Telegraph Wetherspoons, 01273 827540 155–158 North Street, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 1EA
https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/east-sussex/the-post--telegraph-brighton If coming, please let Mr Simon Barber know in advance:
E. simon4barber@gmail.com  or 0208 940 4399 All welcome.
Agenda:
1.      Appointment of a chair for the meeting (not Simon) – who takes the notes.
2.      Introduction to what ERTA is and its agenda – getting better rail links
3.      Arundel Curve: would enable Horsham-South Coast-Brighton through services.
4.      Polegate-Stone Cross: Campaigners past have let the old route be dismissed and built on and a new route can only be do-able if lands are protected from development. Pressure is on. How best in delegated fashion, locals can rescue a direct curve from obliteration? It could shave 10+ minutes off end-to-end Brighton-Ashford coastal services, whilst freeing up more capacity at Eastbourne for a Capital-Airport-Resort direct fast service.
5.      Gatwick-Redhill Curve (east-north)-Tonbridge: how best to advance it, as to feasibility and gradients and move it towards delivery.
6.      Horsham-Shoreham (long-term compared with other aspirations) – it needs studying, route protection and recovery and a delivery vehicle which can look at deviations or ‘here’s the cheque, move please.’ Shoreham is a port, and could send direct freight trains beit aggregates to West London or via Reading elsewhere. Routes to north-south are in short supply from the south coast. Brighton Main Line lacks spare capacity for more.
7.      We need new members, support and active volunteers to move these agendas onwards.
8.      AOB/Date of next Forum and suitability of venue review/donations welcome

Note: ERTA relies on volunteers. Be part of the

answer of whether something can happen.

https://ertarail.co.uk/events/