BRTA Westbury Forum Agenda - All Welcome - Saturday 18 May at The Railway Inn, Station Road, Westbury BA13 4HW

Statement to follow. If you want more and better, be willing to attend our meetings and engage more!

Notes from the BRTA Westbury Forum held on Saturday, 18 May 2024 at the Railway Inn, Station Road, Westbury BA13 4HW – By Simon Barber.
Present: Simon Barber and David Ferguson (BRTA), Peter Grant, Graham Ellis (Wiltshire County Councillor), David Northey (Travel Watch South West) and Christopher Maltin
Apologies: Sarah Dyke (MP Somerton and Frome), Christopher Jones and Dan Norris (West of England Combined Authority), Cllr. Sarah Warren (Bath and NE Somerset Council), Cllr. Adrian Dodgson (Radstock Town Council) , Colin Crawford and David Start(BRTA members).
1.      Radstock – Frome: More people tend to commute from Radstock to Bath rather than Frome, since Radstock faces Bath. Therefore, we agreed that it would be more convenient from Radstock to connect to Limpley Stoke (on Bath-Westbury Line), and a light rail was suggested which in fact was the site of the Titfield Thunderbolt film from 1952. BRTA CEO: This should be feasibility study to evaluate choice and options. What of integrity of route for example either way?
2.      Taunton – Barnstaple: Barnstaple has a parking problem and most people commute to Exeter Central which is the centre of that town. BRTA CEO: That is now, but A361 needs a rail option to take volumes off roads and onto rails more. Exeter from London or Bristol for North Devon is a great way round!
3.      Bristol Metro: Upgraded stations at Filton Abbey (site of University of West of England). Also, stations at both Patchway and Pilning which is close to the Aztec Business Park.
4.      New stations on the West of England main line: All these stations are needed (Devizes Parkway, Somerton, Langport, Cullompton, Wellington).
5.      New stations on South Wales main line: Grove Road Wantage is a top priority, since Great Western Railway is planning to run direct services to Bristol Temple Meads and Oxford as proposed by England’s Economic Heartlands (EEH). Also, Corsham and Wootton Bassett stations are needed.
6.      Gravity Site near Bridgwater: Bridgwater has a transport problem, and a light rail is suggested for that site. BRTA CEO – why? What is the comparative cost-demand with heavy rail options? What evaluations have been made? What about Cirencester?
7.      Bristol Temple Meads – Weymouth: We call for more frequent services along that corridor i.e. 1 per hour. Castle Cary station needs upgrading which caters for Glastonbury Festival and also the Shepton Mallet showground (e. g Bath and West), and also Yeovil Pen Mill station which is close to Yeovil’s town centre. BRTA CEO: What about Yeovil Curves?
8.      New bridge over River Severn: Severn tidal barrage is in its early planning stage which will be close to the M4 bridge. BRTA CEO: A study is needed with options for more by rail/capacity.
9.      Gloucester – Ross-on-Wye – Hereford: The Gloucester – Ross-on-Wye section is easier since there are no bridges across the River Wye, compared with the other section from Ross-on-Wye to Hereford where there are several bridges. Michelden station is a possible site for re-opening.

T: BRTA Author and contact: 0208 940 4399   E: simon4barber@gmail.com

BRTA Westbury Forum Saturday 18 May at The Railway Inn, Station Road, Westbury BA13 4HW. Main BRTA Contact: Simon Barber: T: 0208 940 4399

E: simon4barber@gmail.com 1pm food, 2pm business.
 
Agenda:
 
1.                 Appointment of a chair (not Simon) and someone to take notes
2.                 Apologies for absence
3.                 Frome-Radstock reopening
4.                 Taunton-Barnstaple reopening
5.                 Bristol Metro including Portishead, new stations at Ashley Down Station(between Bristol Temple Meads and Henbury) and Charfield (on Bristol Temple Meads-Gloucester line)
6.                 New stations on the West of England main line - Devizes Parkway, Somerton, Langport, Cullompton, Wellington, Corsham
7.                 New station on Grove Road Wantage (on Great Western's South Wales main line)
8.                 The Gravity Site near Bridgwater - Efforts to deliver a new rail link to the site (which is a development for an employment hub and was originally priced at £50m) remain at a standstill until the potential occupier has signed on the dotted line
9.                 Bristol Temple Meads - Weymouth service
10. New bridge over the River Severn to enable more capacity for more by rail between England and Wales
11. Bridport Reopening
12.Yeovil direct curves reinstatement inc. Weymouth-Exeter direct as a result.
13.Gloucester-Ross-on-Wye-Hereford (Southampton-Shrewsbury) avoiding Birmingham  to free up train paths and ease congested railway hot spots causing delay and restricting growth.
14. Any Other Business
15.Day, Date, Time and Place of Next Westbury Forum (suggest thrice yearly).
 
Notes:
1.                      Please bring your agenda with you and contribute
2.                      All welcome to attend, join and make common cause.
3.                      Simon and David are our main contacts for the West County.
4.                      When you mention that preservation got to do with BRTA, that was in fact that the North Somerset Railway will aim to enable reintroduction of national railway operations between Radstock and the Somer valley and the Network through partnerships with GWR, Network Rail, the DfT. and Local Councils.
5.                      BRTA has lots of potential volunteering opportunities – can you be an area rep to grow members, a team and campaign for some of the things on this agenda? Contact Richard Pill, BRTA CEO 01234 330090 / richard.erta@gmail.com 

See: https://ertarail.co.uk/get-involved-volunteering/
6.                      Feedback always useful

7.                      BRTA is transitioning from ERTA to BRTA. 

Please bear with us.

 

BRTA calls on Councils and Public to back a better Rail Deal for Northamptonshire.

 Press Release 22-04-24:

BRTA calls on Councils and Public to back a better Rail Deal for Northamptonshire.

 

The British Regional Transport Association (BRTA) notified the West Northamptonshire Local Plan is now out for feedback, comment and consultation. See: West Northamptonshire Local Plan - 2041 (Regulation 18) Consultation Draft April 2024. Page 254

 

BRTA calls on the public to support its calls for the rail agenda to be made more ‘real.’ BRTA identifies 2 rail projects that should be given far more credence:

1.     Northampton to Bedford: Studies done 20 years ago showed a good case and demand, but were not acted upon and the route compromised. There was a common agreement of route protection between the councils, but this has not been maintained. Now a new route would be needed. But in favour of the rail connectivity and boost to local town centres this rail link offers are very real.

a.      Thameslink to Northampton and Rugby and vice versa

b.     Northampton to Bedford (35 minutes), Luton, x3 airports, Eurostar and the South Coast and vice versa.

c.      More people and goods by rail, reducing volumes on roads, cutting waste, pollution and enabling greater efficiency.

d.     Direct access and integrated services with East-West Rail (East) to/from Cambridge, East Anglia and Stansted Airport.

2.     Northampton-Market Harborough

a.                       Would be a missing piece of a more comprehensive rail network linking Leicester with Northampton, Milton Keynes and Oxford and vice versa.

b.                       Would bring more freight by rail to Northampton Depot, Daventry International Rail Freight Depot (DIRFT)

c.                        Would slash Northampton-Leicester journey times from about 90 minutes to a mere 35 minutes with additional Parkway Station.

d.                       A wider green corridor could enable both a twin track modern railway and a cycle-footpath albeit weaving where pinch-points may exist.

e.                       Study (2020) found good potential, but BRTA calls for full data to be released and both councils, government, and agencies like Midland Connect and England’s Economic Heartlands (EEH) to get behind it and lead on a timely delivery of at most 10 years’ time-frame. We need this rail link now!

 

End Press Release

 

Contacts: Richard Pill BRTA CEO 01234 330090 richard.erta@gmail.com or Professor Andrew N. Williams, T: 07923489254   E: anw@doctors.org.uk

About Rail Central – Northampton’s newest rail development.

About Rail Central – Northampton’s newest rail development. (above shows new tracks).

 
Rail Central is an emerging plan for a new strategic rail freight interchange (SRFI) where the West Coast mainline meets the Northampton Loop Line to the south-west of Northampton.
It would see the creation of a UK leading logistics and distribution capability on a site between Milton Malsor and Blisworth.
The rationale for this site is driven entirely by its strategic location and direct connections to key rail and road networks – Rail Central would connect into the West Coast mainline and the Northampton Loop Line as well as into the A43 trunk route within approximately 2 miles of the M1 motorway.
In addition to supporting the national policy move for freight on rail and creating a world-class logistics and distribution facility in South Northamptonshire, Rail Central would:
·        Create circa 8,000 new jobs
·        Channel significant and long-term investment into South Northamptonshire
·        Attract businesses for which effective supply chain management is critical to competitiveness
·        Reduce overall CO2 emissions by shifting more freight from road to rail
·        Underpin Northamptonshire’s position as the UK hub for logistics and support local jobs and the county’s economy
http://railcentral.com/
 
Rail Central Consultation feedback – now logged (15 June 2018)
Alex Verbeek (Gazeley) Andrew Fisher (Ashfied Land). By Simon Barber T: 0208 940 4399  

E: simon4barber@gmail.com Ed. Rebuilding Northampton-Market Harborough rail link would complement this and Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT.

More dates for diaries and ammunition!

Some of you may find this article of interest and its source. Air pollution is damaging public health and well being and that costs the NHS as well as families of loved ones. Our rail proposals will help cut emissions and therefore are pro-life! 

Please have a read: 

https://www.frontiersin.org/news/2024/04/15/air-pollution-neurological-disorders-earth-day

Our Northampton to Market Harborough (N"MH) needs more team players like Northampton, Market Harborough and Leicester area reps to recruit new members and promote the idea of reopenings. If interested please forward enquiries to me: richard.erta@gmail.com

BRTA still has yet to get the name changed at the bank, not for want of trying, but they take ages. Please make donations payable to ERTA for now.

Our AGM - for your diaries - will be AGM and Public Meeting: Saturday, 13 July at The Court House, Church Lane, Berkhamsted HP4 2AX for 2-3pm AGM and 3-5pm business.

Phone: 01442-878227 https://www.stpetersberkhamsted.org.uk/courthouse/

12 Noon Wetherspoons, 13.00 Set Up. Guest Speaker: Karl Watts, a director at Railmotive Ltd. All welcome/admission free. Please bring cash with you to peruse our second-hand book and rail magazine stall, donate or join. Note: If you join as a new member on an old form, it will be honoured for the first year!

Other forums, if you wish to meet us or be out and about enjoying train travel are:

BRTA Summer Forums: Where Executive Officers go to regions, we are not so active in and reach out to find new members and support for our local rail agendas. Join us and let us get networking together! This summer, we are calling at:

1.          Westbury - Saturday, 18 May at the Railway Inn, Station Road, Westbury BA13 4HW https://www.railwayinn-westbury.co.uk/ Phone: Karen Griggs (landlady)

01373-228109 (landline) 07402-322334(mobile)

2.           Shrewsbury - Saturday, 8 June at the Montgomery Tower,

Lower Claremont Bank, Shrewsbury, Salop. SY1 1RT https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/shropshire/montgomerys-tower-shrewsbury Phone: 01743-239080.

3.           Sheffield - Saturday, 29 June at the Benjamin Huntsman,

12-18 Cambridge Street, Sheffield, South Yorks. S1 4UD 

https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/south-yorkshire/the-benjamin-huntsman-sheffield Phone: 0114-263-9500.

Chief Executive Officers for these Summer Forums are Messrs Simon Barber and David Ferguson (see header): c/o T: 0208 940 4399

All meetings are 1pm food and 2pm onwards business. Check for details.

E: simon4barber@gmail.com People are responsible for their own food and drink and transport arrangements. Why not take a hotel or B&B and enjoy exploring a new area? If you want ‘more and better,’ be willing to enable that!

Horsham Public Meeting (see attached) - 27-04-24 - all welcome. Please help spread the word. If we hire a hall it incurs cost, so please give of your time and donate, bring cash and peruse our second hand magazines and books and/or renew your membership or maybe join for the first time. It is your association, we are only as good as a growing membership informs.

The Who is who of BRTA and a call for capable volunteers! Contact us now.

 

BRTA is seeking a voluntary person to work up rough diagrams to make them look pretty and help as a marketing tool for us to get our message across/market good ideas worthy of consideration. If interested email CEO Richard Pill richard.erta@gmail.com to discuss further.

Government have created costly barriers to deter!

re: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crg66p74e62o

The demand by Government for feasibility studies upwards of £100, 000 to get started and demands for expensive and excruciating business cases at cost, delays, deters and defers all lay people and campaigners and unless someone somewhere, finds the money in a cost of living crisis and austerity, these projects never see the light of day.

We do need local rail solutions. We do need local rail reopenings as a catalyst to modal shift back from road to rail for more people and goods by rail, with multiple benefits like cutting congestion, freeing up parking spaces, cutting air pollution and improving and empowering the public with more choice, options and enablement.

So, what can give, what can take? We need a nationwide programme, region by region of local rail line reopenings. Devon has Bude, Tavistock, Bideford and Ilfracombe in the line-up, and Government, bearing in mind the savings of road wear and tear maintenance and greater efficiency of time-energy usage, let alone climate change issues, should be incentivising such local rail schemes and incentivising parcels companies like UPS, Royal Mail, FedEx, DPD, DHL to mention just a few - all need to be engaging with a nationwide switch policy and facilitation from road to rail, yet apart from the grand success of Varamis Rail: https://www.varamis.co.uk/ we are decades behind where we need to be in terms of infrastructure restoration, incentives, costs and enablement. Switching to rail means capital expenditure and the Government is treating it as a 'free market/laissez-faire' matter, not the public, environmental and general leadership matter. Would Opposition Parties be any better? Alas, from observing Labour responses to 'bads', that opposition is failing to show what it would do differently. To renationalise or not to renationalise and who pays, remain academic and media points of underlying debate, when like other aspects of life, we need bringing more to the forefront with 'this is what we will do...', rather than he said, she said and this is the result - chaos, mayhem, rising costs and barriers! 

Hope of interest. Our projects from a Northampton-Market Harborough rail link and that of Guildford-Horsham, along with Derby-Manchester via Matlock, Bakewell and Buxton/Chinley, need Government of any shade support and that absence and long-grassing into quangos who tell us PFI is the way to go (whenceforth does it come?), remains the 'devil in the detail' (Leviathan!)! We're going round and round, time is slipping by and resolution by default is roads and negativity, blight and unsustainable development without services and infrastructure.

BRTA, with your support, will continue to work to get progress, improvement and chip-by-chip keep all our wheels moving!

Here's possibly an example of where your money has gone?

Avanti Bosses: Hand back your taxpayer-funded bonuses 

To: Mark Harper, Secretary of State for Transport of the United Kingdom Andy Mellors, Managing Director at Avanti West Coast Petition text: Avanti West Coast managers have joked about receiving “free money” from the government and performance-related payments being “too good to be true”. They should hand back every penny in bonuses they have received at the taxpayers’ expense. Why is this important? Leaked slides from an internal Avanti West Coast presentation, whose services are notorious for disruption, delays, short-notice cancellations and overcrowding, show senior management at the operator calling taxpayer money “too good to be true”. Avanti is Britain’s worst performing rail company. Annual accounts show Graham Sutherland, the CEO of FirstGroup which owns Avanti, will be paid £1.1m including £682,000 in bonuses for 2023, while chief financial officer Ryan Mangold earned £3m, including £2.5m in bonuses. In 2022, Mr Mangold received £1.9m. Latest figures from the Office of Rail and Road statistics show Avanti cancelled 2,976 trains between April and November 2023, an average of more than 13 per day. Despite their poor performance, Avanti and Cross Country were rewarded with new long-term contracts by the Government in September. Not only are Avanti a poorly-run rail company, but they also find it funny to laugh at the daylight robbery they are getting away with. They should be made to pay back every penny in taxpayer-money they received as bonuses as punishment. https://act.38degrees.org.uk/act/avanti-bonuses