The British Regional Transport Association (BRTA) a voluntary unincorporated membership based association seeking to restore strategic missing rail links and improve the environment as a result. We advocate passenger and freight by rail, unblocking our roads and improving air quality we all have to breathe! Enquiries can be sent to E. ceo@brtarail.com
About Me

- British Regional Transport Association (BRTA)/Richard Pill
- Bedford, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom
Friday, 25 July 2025
News article, gloomy or accurate, where next?
Sunday, 20 July 2025
Bedford Local Transport Plan - Please engage and help us get our goals on the radar.
Please engage with this: https://www.bedford.gov.
Thursday, 17 July 2025
Re-Rail Witney is a goer, but not supported by government?
Please see news article and email your MP in support!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0k72ln3748o
Please see this link: https://witneyoxfordtransport.org.uk/2025/07/17/integrating-rail-infrastructure-in-oxfordshire-development-plans/
Email in support of the rail link being fully restored as a modern railway which people and potentially freight can use.
The following link may be of interest... a viable rail proposition, but not being given the support by government it required to 'go ahead'!
Tuesday, 15 July 2025
Request for your support please - Bring back our tracks and trains campaign!
Dear All,
Thursday, 10 July 2025
British Regional Transport Association (BRTA) Press Response
re: https://www.bbc.co.uk/
BRTA Sheffield
Forum Public Meeting
Saturday 19 July 2025 2-4pm business
Venue:
Farm Road
Sports & Social Club, Farm Road, Sheffield S2 2TP
1. Welcome by Chair-of-the-Meeting Mr Chris Hyomes
2. Speaker: Chris Bell, on Don Valley Rail Project to Stocksbridge
3. Speaker Roy Begg, Technical Officer of the Minsters Rail Link Campaign https://www.minstersrail.com/
4. Others speakers at the Chairperson’s discretion.
5. Question and Answer (Q&A) Panel
6. Any Other Business 7. Sales and Mingle
All welcome, admission free.
BRTA Website: https://brtarail.com/events/
Blogspot: https://brtarailvolunteer.blogspot.com/
Friday, 4 July 2025
Local Bus Improvement Schemes and using Universal as a catalyst for more diverse radial rails
Monday, 30 June 2025
Northampton-Bedford-Wixams and beyond by rail? Call to action stations please!
Call to action stations please!
Battle for Bromham:
we need to keep route options open!
Contact: ceo@brtarail.com
Tuesday, 24 June 2025
Wales Rails Vision - join and volunteer to take it forward!
Update 29-06-25:
re: https://nation.cymru/feature/wales-railways-caught-in-the-business-case-trap/
If you have any reasoned answers to this article you feel BRTA and others can use to counter it, please email ceo@brtarai.com
Minutes of our BRTA Wrexham Forum which was held last Saturday at The Elihu Yale, 44-46 Regent Street, Wrexham LL11 1RR. As you know, only one other person came which was our member Daniel Newton(from Wrexham).
- Apologies: David Start and David Ferguson (BRTA); Russell George/Peredur Owen Griffiths/Jane Dodds MS; Stuart Anderson/Julia Buckley MP; Cllrs. Alan Mosley/Bernie Bentinck/Carloyn Healy/Ben Jephcott.
- London-Wrexham: The Office of Rail and Road are currently carrying out our review of this application. Among other considerations, this includes assessing: based on the advice provided by Network Rail and applicants, if there is sufficient capacity for the proposed services and whether the services would unduly affect train performance; and, where relevant for open access proposals, what the financial impact on existing public sector operators would be. As part of our assessment of this application we will take account of the representations of all interested parties. We have forwarded the email which I had written to the ORR and their team will be assessing this application.
- Shrewsbury-Chester: The local Parish Council (Baschurch) commissioned a preliminary study of the feasibility and business case for the re-opening of Baschurch Station. I had tried to contact that Parish Council but they had never replied.
- Ruabon-Llangollen: There must be a separate campaign which should be in the name of the BRTA, and we should not contact the Llangollen Railway.
- Freight by Rail: The routes from Cardiff to Shrewsbury and then to both Chester and Crewe must be electrified since there are many freight flows along these routes.
- Bridgnorth-Shrewsbury Corridor: That part of the route (which closed in about 1963) has been subject to landslips and that a tunnel had collapsed. There are discussions and proposals to reopen parts of it although there could be several gradients.
- West Wales North-South Proposals: The Welsh Government is still debating on this matter, which includes both Bangor-Pwllheli and Aberystwyth-Carmarthen.
- Oswestry-Gobowen and links with Welshpool direct: First, the section between Gobowen (on Shrewsbury-Chester line) and Oswestry to reconnect a town to the railway network have now been thrown into doubt after the funding programme behind the scheme was scrapped since the restoration of the rail link between Oswestry and Gobowen - however the level crossing under the A5 on that line needs to be replaced with a tunnel. Meanwhile the section between Oswestry and Weston Wharf is already a heritage line and there is a level crossing on that heritage line and it must be replaced by an overbridge. The southern end between Llynclis South and Welshpool is disused.
- Barmouth-Dolgellau: We must look into this project, which could go on to Bala Junction, Bala Town itself and ultimately Corwen. The section between Corwen and Cynwyd is formerly a railway line but is being converted into a greenway by Denbighshire Country Council.Both of us had discussed greenways whilst there is a railway one side and pedestrian/cycling corridor on the other with a fence separating the railway from the pedestrian/cycling corridor.
- Email ceo@brtarail.com about anything.
- See also: https://brtarail.com/our-campaigns/
Sunday, 22 June 2025
Please support a new Dumfries to Stranraer and Kirkcudbright Rail Link
Venue: Robert the Bruce, 81-83 Buccleuch Street, Dumfries DG1 1DJ Venue Website: www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/robert-the-bruce-dumfries Phone: 01387-270320
BRTA Main Forum Convenor: Simon Barber:
Email address: admin@brtarail.com
Phone (landline): 020-8940-4399
Phone (mobile): 07522-374740
Agenda
1. Appointment of a Chairperson for the meeting (not Simon):
2. Appointment of a note taker for the meeting
3. Dumfries-Stranraer and Kirkcudbright rail rebuild/new-build why?
a. Regeneration
b. Modal Choice
c. Kirkcudbright has a Deep Sea Portal, could negotiations with the Royal Navy inform more freight by rail?
d. Capturing road vehicles traffic off the A75
e. Sustainable footfall and spend along the rail corridor, increased visitorship by rail and incomes derived from it.
f. A direct curve west to north at the Stranraer end for access to the Ayrshire Coast Railway and vice versa, making a loop out of Glasgow and Edinburgh. Discuss.
4. These benefits and engineering a rail rebuild needs studying yes/no?
5. Join BRTA, become an Area Rep to recruit new members and inform a team for reopenings across Scotland with Dumfries-Stranraer/Kirkcudbright et al being our top priority?
6. Route protection needed, route audit and list compilation of blockages and challenges.
7. Make appeal to the Scottish Parliament, Local Authorities, and the Public et al.
8. Any Other Business
9. Day, Date, Time, and Place of next meeting (2026) – sort now, low-cost hall/venue?
Note: BRTA works on the basis of “think not what BRTA can do for you, but what you can do for BRTA” – so make reliable offers if willing to help and serve.
Tuesday, 17 June 2025
South East and East Rail Consultation
New update on related rail matters:
New Thameslink Eastbourne service starting - prelude to
our call for Capital-Airport-Eastbourne (Resort) synergy and Polegate-Stone Cross direct curve for Ashford-Brighton shave 20 minutes end-to-end and Hastings-Ashford electrification infill and redoubling?
Please get to it in campaign and marketing terms: https://news.
Please respond to this consultation. We need more tracks for more trains and that must include local rail reopenings and more orbital rail links around M25/London to enable radial services from and to different parts of Great Britain offering seamless journeys to/from the South East, cutting volumes of traffic vehicles (people and goods) and lowering congestion, blight and emissions/deteriorating quality of life for South East Citizens.