ERTA Rugby Transport Forum - Saturday 21st January 2023 1pm food, 2pm business at Rupert Brooke Wetherspoons 01788 576759 8–10 Castle Street, Rugby, Warwickshire CV21 2TP

Rugby Forum - all welcome! Obviously as and when we get more local people interested and willing to be involved, we hope to upgrade to a hall-based meeting as resources may inform. However, for the time being we meet at the local Wetherspoons. 

I attach a diagram showing the lines and links we are interested in. It is noteworthy that Rugby is central between Northampton and Coventry and Leicester and Leamington Spa, but there is a feeling that the central significance of the location and town has been overlooked, under-estimated and should indeed be restored as a main rail hub for local and regional rail connectivity and indeed environmentally, with more people and goods being lured and nurtured back onto the rail network. 

It is interesting, however informed, that HS2 has a station gap between Solihull and Old Oak Common (OOC) (West London), some 100 miles. That is a lot of growth area development sprawl without access to any rail station within 5-10 miles drive-time. So more development of whatever kind, will revert to road and roads of any kind are jamming up progressively with rat-running across country to circumvent junctions and congestion on trunk roads and motorways - when the selling point for closing railways and building motorways was they would drain towns and rural areas of congestion!

We are not trying to rebuild every inch of old railway line, we want new 21st century design rail links which serve people, communities and forge better local access and linkages. Old routes have been compromised and the art now is a. to determine we wish to entertain the idea of restoration, b. then to help find resources to study options and solutions and c. if the case is robust, to pursue them incrementally or as part of a government-backed grand design for modal shift to reduce emissions, congestion and waste.

https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/cost-of-congestion-in-capital-revealed#:~:text=This%20is%20estimated%20to%20cost,were%20not%20stuck%20in%20traffic.

Arguably the link above shows what is also happening outside London and we know there is a need for more rail-based orbitals around London to link the South Coast and Channel Tunnel with the wider regions sustainably. We believe our suggestions, with realignments, new build and integration, could play a pivotal role.

Magna Park is one of the largest depots of its kind and generates significant traffic, but as yet has no rail link access. Likewise Lutterworth, a growing town with no rail link serving it. Much ado about traffic, trade and business between West and East Midlands, but whilst rails do exist, north-south Rugby/Northampton-Leicester as a gateway to wider East Midlands and East Coast via Peterborough, remains largely unappreciated. 

There will always be objections whatever one seeks to do, but these need to be weighed in the round and that of the greater good. As UN Secretary General recently said at COP27 

"And our planet is fast approaching tipping points that will make climate chaos irreversible. We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator. "

Source: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/2022-11-07/secretary-generals-remarks-high-level-opening-of-cop27

Whatever your views on Climate Change or Emergency, our rail ideas, which is what ERTA does - plant ideas - should be adopted and translated to policy to nurture towards fruition. Please consider what help you can give, like protecting land for enabling physical rail linkages in the Narborough and Rugby areas respectively.

East-West Rail (Oxford-Milton Keynes) is being built now. So that link will give access by rail to Oxford, Bristol and Southampton and all in between for example and them to potential audiences, if via our route (as West Coast Main Line has capacity issues), which would cut duration or freight and passenger journey times and boost regeneration, footfall and spend and cut emissions at one and the same time. In all cases, you have to start somewhere.

Copies of pdf agenda via requests to richard.erta@gmail.com 

Great Central Report - pdf with photos available via richard.erta@gmail.com

 

After crossing Olney Lane at SP 5166 7252 the trackbed is part of the Great Central Way, a well-maintained cyclepath and footpath, for the next 3km. The line of the former railway is unbroken north of here until the point that Abbey Street, Rugby is reached, just before the West Coast Main Line.

{…..detail to come on the bit between Olney Lane and Ashlawn Road}

The trackbed runs under the Ashlawn Road overbridge at SP 5159 7319, and from here until the West Coast Main Line is reached at SP 5160 7569 it is part of National Cycling Network Route 41. Continuing just west of north from Ashlawn Road in a deep cutting (Figure 1) the trackbed passes under the footbridge between Pytchley Road and Catesby Road at SP 5148 7394 (Figure 2). After this the trackbed approaches the site of the former Rugby Central Station. The surface has been well-maintained throughout this walkway, but until a few years ago it had been very muddy in places. Much work has been done to improve the drainage, so now we have good walking/cycling surfaces with areas of wetland to the sides (Figure 3). In places the footpath/cyclepath meanders slightly to move around the wet areas on opposing sides of the path, even though the line of the trackbed is very straight (Figure 4). There are numerous access points for walkers along this stretch.

Figure 1 Looking south along the Great Central Walkway, with the B4429 Ashlawn Road overbridge ahead (SP 5155 7353).

Figure 2 Looking south along the Great Central Walkway, towards the footbridge connecting Pytchley Road and Catesby Road (SP 5147 7400).

Figure 3 Looking north along the Great Central Walkway, showing some of the nearby wetland (SP 5145 7406, or close).

Figure 4 Looking south along the Great Central Walkway at the southernmost extent of the raised station platform. It shows how the walkway has been created to meander with vegetation and wetland in pockets on each side (SP 5139 7445).

At SP 5141 7438, shortly before Rugby Central Station is reached, the cutting widens out slightly. I think this was probably railway sidings. At the station site itself, the central island platform is still in evidence, and the footpath/cyclepath is carried along the length of the platform while the trackbeds on either side are mainly full of water and vegetation (Figure 5, Figure 6, Figure 7).

Figure 5 Detail of the wetland that has been established in part of the trackbed at the site of Rugby Central Station (SP 5137 7461).

Figure 6 Looking north towards Hillmorton Road bridge from the platform at Rugby Central station (SP 5137 7461).

Figure 7 A closer look at the platform at the former Rugby Central station. Looking north from the trackbed (SP 5139 7447).

The trackbed passes underneath Hillmorton Road bridge at SP 5137 7464. It is at this point that there would have been passenger access to Rugby Central Station, although the only access now is via switchback footways on the north side of Hillmorton Road bridge.

At various points on this stretch the local Rotary Club has carried out maintenance on self-seeded and dead trees, as well as installing some short stretches of old railway track in order to add to the interest on this section.

Just north of Hillmorton Road bridge the footpath drops down to track level as the northern end of the island platform is reached (Figure 8). The trackbed continues in a cutting towards Abbey Street and the West Coast Main Line, passing under bridges at Lower Hillmorton Road (SP 5137 7490), Clifton Road (SP 5142 7523) and Bridge Street (SP 5146 7535).

Figure 8 Looking south at Hillmorton Road bridge and the northern extent of the Rugby Central station platform (SP 5137 7467).

North of Bridge Street the surrounding land falls away and the cutting becomes shallower. The trackbed passes between rows of houses until it reaches Abbey Street at SP 5160 7570. At this point the trackbed is above street level and this section of the Great Central Way comes to an end. A bridge would have taken the track across Abbey Street and further north across the West Coast Main Line, but the bridge has been removed (Figure 9). It is possible to view some of the bridge supports that are still in place when looking north across the West Coast Main Line from the point at which the Great Central Way comes to an end (Figure 10).

Figure 9 Remains of the bridge taking the GCR across Abbey Street just before it reaches the West Coast Main Line (SP 5161 7570).

Figure 10 Looking at the gap across Abbey Street to the bridge support before the West Coast Main Line is reached by the GCR. Taken from the raised trackbed, at the northernmost walkable extent of this portion of the Great Central Walkway, looking north (SP 5161 7570).

For the pdf with photos please email richard.erta@gmail.com