Consultation coming up, but it should include a choice of route east of Bedford in our view. It should include our suggested route via Willington and Government must insist that developments on Land West of Willington, provide a bridge over the old double track railway width corridor of former said rail link and ensure none of its plans scupper reasonable reopening.
If it does not do this, then Northern Route or bus is locked-in. In any case interim, new trainshed nearer Midland Road will require land and a double track bay to 8-coach length will require land and relocations of existing properties. Sad, but just a reality of not going via St John's area.
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Our route offers the following:
1. Passenger trains from Oxford and Cambridge reversing into twin bays at Bedford Midland.
2. Freight leaving the twin-track approaches to link with current slow lines south of Ford End Road 3. A triangle at St John's would enable east-west freight by rail avoding going through Bedford Midland tracks, keeping more paths for other trains, with Northern Route, everything must go through Bedford Midland and that hits capacity and pathing potentially.
4. Will the Northern Route be fit for freight, electrification and how sound is the landscape North of Bedford, bearing in mind a gas field sits under Cleat Hill, which cost a life when a heat pump was sunk?
5. Our route is flat, not hilly, unlike Northern Route.
6. A comparative study should be done between our route's credentials and Northern Route.
7. Tempsford, south of Station Road or North, should put the rail infratructure first and an A&E Hospital for the new 40k housing development, which combined with merger and growth sprawl of Sandy, Biggleswade and Potton will be upwards 100, 000 population and current hospitals 10 miles in any direction are at capacity.... what planning or planet are we living on to think dumping mass development without these infrastructures is acceptable?
Let's learn lessons from #Wixams fiasco, which put cart (housing) before horse (infrastructure).
8. Our route envisages physical rail linkages with main north-south main line for Peterborough, Stevenage and East Bedfordshire to have direct access to/from #Bedford County Town and the Oxford corridor.
9. None of the current East-West Rail plans include an east-north link for rail, so all potential freight is reduced in scope, ditto footfall and spend.
10. Our route can realign existing developments and tackles Great Ouse and Ivell with A1, whereas Northern Route is uncertain, as to duck under A1 north of Black Cat Roundabout for example, you have to come up to cross the confluence of these two rivers and then diver down to go under the main north-soth railway in a few hundred meters... hardly a straight line!
These things need more consideration and a consultation with a choice of two worked up rail routes answering these questions would enable the people to fionally have their choice, denied in the 2019 consulktation which ruled out our route based on flimsy Office for Road and Rail (ORR) ruling out new level crossings. That policy needs challengeing as it bumps up costs to duck-under or bridge-over and is a blanket policy of dog in a manger! Our country as never before needs to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and oil, more strategic rail links enable reductions in consumption as well as other environmental benefits like reduce urban congestion. As for re-routing the A1, the choice is clear, Blunham or RSPB Sandy!
Which MP would are to suggest either if he wants votes over bumpers!
Land is scarce, it is premium and needs carefulo stewardship. Sunderland Road, Sandy was built on Grade 1 soil!
Hope this is food for thought, we can get it right if the people can have a choice put before them please.
#Northampton-Bedford would come in from the north west and go through Bedford Midland and out to the east via St John's. If Land North of Lower Farm Road, #Bromham is developed, it scuppers Northampton's share of rail access to Bedford, Universal and Cambridge/East Anglia and vice versa. Please retain these routes and support
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reopenings. It is an investment in ourselves 'think global, act local'!
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