Tempsford invasion without scruples thinking through! Welcome to dumbed down planning!
Don't be fooled by rhetoric.
The Northampton arm to EWRL is vital and we should push for it. Key people are opposing covertly our route east of Bedford and Northern Route east of Bedford. Both land at the Tempsford area, but with no physical rail links with ECML (the main north-south main line), through running south of Peterborough to Bedford or Cambridge, north of Stevenage and East Beds direct to Bedford/Oxford corridor is ruled out.
That is much less-than what we wanted and reduced to dynamic appeal for Universal, yes people will come from all directions, but York to Universal for example requires a change and a wait for another train and vice versa unless they access Bedford/Wixams via the Midland Main Line and how much capacity has it got and what about freight by rail?
In short, it has not been thought through. Some of our leaders are being duplicitous and the rail should have been better thought through with interjections of "this is what we want, this is how to do it" than following East West Rail and the culture of secrecy around it playing blind man's bluff!
There's very little BRTA can do now, but follow the unravelling of events and see the curtain come down on our route, locking in Northern Route or bust.
In any case, more will drive to Universal than would otherwise be the case, congestion gridlock highly likely for the foreseeable future and massive land take for parking demand will be a political call. The council and poor government detailed planning have only themselves to blame. The public can only vote on what is put before them, our route was ruled out of the 2019 Consultation; so the public could not have a proper say anyway. The rest is history.
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It would be laughable if not so sad for all who have tirelessly worked to get the passenger service off the ground.
One freighter a day, is that each way or one-way ad hoc?
We need a better marketing strategy to optimise the potential including the Aylesbury link for South Bucks to MK and ultimately Universal and Bedford and beyond, not just east-west, but north-south to/from east-west as well.
Please email your MP and demand the parties involved are made to go to ACAS or whatever and come to a compromise sooner than later. https://www.parliament.
As for rolling stock, this is a nationwide problem as we need a new generation of sprinters and a rolling programme of electrification with more battery trains too, especially if reopenings are to add to the mix of cleaner modal transport choices.
For other BRTA news, please scroll down our excellent Blogspot, containing a wealth of information. info@brtarail.com
I attach a new diagram BRTA has put together to show what an emergent rail network should look like, inclusive of Northampton. Choices pro and default have to be made and all have positive or negative consequences. If we support studies and make the case to re-rail, then more will visit the area including Universal at 8-million visitors per year and 26, 000 jobs sustainably. If we do not grasp this, we render all to go by road and massive land-take for car parks and highway development with urban gridlock and overwhelm beit congestion, delays, costs, pollution and ill-health/blight. This can be avoided with optimal regeneration. Please work with us and give us your support for a pro-rail future, not more of the same exacerbated.
Yours sincerely,
Richard Pill
BRTA CEO
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