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 Corridor Re-Rail Project - a new railway for all!

25 May 2022

Press Release

 

Great Central Corridor New Rail Aspiration!

 

Given the HS2 project and other development has scuppered relaying track on the original Great Central Main Line, ERTA is of the view however, that a new domestic line along the corridor has merit, should be supported, studied and kept open as a viable option.

 

The new-build domestic rail link would leave the East-West Rail Link east of the proposed new Claydon Junction (linking Aylesbury with Milton Keynes) and west of built Claydon which is expanding as is most of the areas the new line would serve. It would go to the east of Brackley with a Parkway Station adjacent to the A43 with bus links to Silverstone.

 

A new Parkway Station at Rugby as an interim with phased incremental development or if a major backer sees the bigger picture and does ‘all in one’ as a whole project, a new-build link to the West Coast Main Line (WCML), Northampton Loop and Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT). A new link out of WCML via Magna Park, Lutterworth and linking the existing Leicester-Nuneaton lines in the Narborough area is envisaged.

 

The scope of the new railway is:

1. The immediate corridor between Old Oak Common-Calvert-Brackley-Rugby-Leicester/East Midlands.

2. Calvert – Rugby has a 3–5-mile population catchment of around 144, 000 plus through journeys and freight.

3. The scope of what this extra capacity creation railway could offer to road and rail enablement to do more by rail is a cordon of scope from London-Southampton-Bristol to Leicester/East Midlands and all in between.

“ERTA believes it is worth government, agencies and others taking an interest and we welcome a consortium of champion backers to buy into the idea and work it up towards delivery. HS2 of nature cannot serve intermediate places like Brackley, but upwards of 15, 000 population needs closer rail access, otherwise we just pour growth onto a road only agenda.” Said Richard Pill, ERTA Chairman and Media Spokesperson.

 

End of Press Release

 

Further comment: Mr Richard Pill, ERTA Chairman and Media Spokesperson 01234 330090/richard.erta@gmail.com

 

Our meetings are open to all, so all welcome. 

Agenda for ERTA Great Central Corridor Re-Railing Project via Zoom: Colin Crawford (hosting a Great Central re-rail corridor Zoom Meeting: Mobile 07836-693977

E: colin.crawford1@btconnect.com on Thursday 7th July 1pm-3pm. He will send a link and help disseminate to potentially interested people. Richard to provide an agenda as a guide.

1. Appointment of a Chair for the meeting (Colin Crawford)

2. Apologies for absence

3. Update by Richard about what the project is and is not.

4. What we need to succeed and who, what and how supporters can get it (i.e., not solely Richard):

a. Route protection/recovery/realignment/new build sections

b. Raising funds for studies/encouraging others to study

c. Dedicated EEH Officer to make in-rails to their camp and influence them to support it, study it, poll people, talent and work towards delivery

d. Any offers to assist Richard in the effort (email/desktop style)

e. Any particular issues for and resolutions. See notes below:

5. Any reports on progress on Rugby (WCML)-Magna Park-Lutterworth-Narborough link up? Any offers to be our agent on that project and work with others to start progression towards delivery/secure the route/support/enablement?

6. Rugby Central. Yes, a new link via Barby to link with WCML/Northampton Loop/DIRFT needed, but could Rugby Central serve as a nodal Parkway status Station and terminal branch initially unless a big partner can deliver ‘all in one’?

7. Any other business (related)

8. Day, Date, Time and Place of Next Meeting, ideally a Saturday early September, not the 10^th.

Notes:

1. Note: we don’t want any dissent or against spiel, it is our policy to pursue it as far as it can go. If you support, get involved, if not, see the vacuum a modal shift needs and Climate Emergency and get out. We are trying to build a coalition of support, action and hope.

2. Too long has been spent delaying, deferring, denying and here, we must ruthlessly commit to supporting, engaging and enabling please.

3. Studies have been done via numerous outlets and the case was robust. Development has blocked, but I believe a route, a new railway to modern standards but not High Speed, able to deal with diverse passenger and freight capacity, can be found. If we do not bother, it defaults to roads, more roads, more congestion and ruins the landscape. We must act now.

4. Join our email loop via richard.erta@gmail.com and join ERTA via https://ertarail.co.uk/become-a-member/

and

ERTA Agenda for Rugby Forum – Saturday 9 July 2pm food, 3pm -5pm business Rupert Brooke, 8-10 Castle Street, Rugby, Warks. CV21 2TP https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/warwickshire/rupert-brooke-rugby

1. Appointment of a Chair person for the meeting.

2. Sign the attendance list and welcome, saying names around the table.

3. ERTA Re-Rail Project: a brief guide to what it is about and what it is not – Richard Pill

4. The ERTA Need: more members, more offers to help, to build the local support base up and encourage support at all levels. How best YOU can help with that, as we are busy with many other aspects and things. A need for local people to own and engage with this matter.

5. Any progress/reports on Rugby-Lutterworth-Narborough (linkage for Leicester etc) inclusive of Magna Park?

6. Consideration of solutions to problems, remembering this is in all probability a new railway, built to modern standards and able to handle passenger and freight usage, contrast HS2 passenger only with no station between Solihull and Old Oak Common, however informed, it is both a gap and vacancy for a domestic railway to fill.

7. Getting England’s Economic Heartlands (EEH) and Connect Midlands agencies on board more/any volunteers to bridge between them for winning them over more to our way of thinking?

8. Route consideration:

a. coming off east-west rail east of new Claydon Junction, west of built Claydon in a context of development expansion a given?

b. A study is needed to getting around Brackley to the East with Parkway Station near A43

c. Woodford Halse is blocked and parish needs winning over – any volunteers.

d. Rugby Central as an interim nodal point terminus Parkway Station, with a new link via Barby to join Northampton Loop/WCML somehow, somewhere needs a specific study/phased, incremental assessment by professionals. Our job is to grow a team, recruit new members, bring people together and grow local support at all levels please.

8. Any other business

9. Date, Time and Place of Next Meeting: Ideally a Saturday in October.

Please note: ERTA Central Officers can collaboratively foster willing hosts for meetings and as a result bring people together. Please encourage any interested people or organisations to email richard.erta@gmail.com to join our loop and/or see our website for joining details/fill in a flyer.

The Executive Committee cannot be responsible to do it majoritively, to work, it must come from local people. EEH Website is: https://www.englandseconomicheartland.com/

Comments:

The Pandemic left much undone as did distract, but now we are gradually getting together using zoom for some audiences and physical meetings for others. We do not wish to disenfranchise those not familiar with modern technology, and we aim to value contributions made by all who can contribute in some constructive way.

I attach 2 agendas for 2 meetings. Our meetings are open to all and so all welcome. They will not be going over the same old ground of should we or wait, rather, how to and get to or get out! Development is happening, Government has declared a Climate Emergency and we need a coherent coordinated endeavour to tailor development to protect a course for a new rail route and keep options 'open' more, whilst pressure and influence to encourage all tiers of governance, councils and agencies along with business and developers to invest in seeing what this new rail link could offer and make sustainable whilst balancing public utility with land-use policy and practise. Currently it is a free-for-all and whereas Victorians saw the need for bulk people and goods to go by rail, we have laissez-faire whereby anything goes, whether it is consistent with sustainability principles or not. That must change.

We need as many people as want to help, feel able to contribute, head up and front for us in the labyrinth of interfaces such a monumental challenge informs. It can be done and has to start now. 

In the early 1990's on a sponsored cycle ride, a display at the old Winslow Station, showed a need to support re-railing the Great Central corridor then and people were dismissive saying things like "if we can't get Aylesbury/Oxford-Milton Keynes, what chance Great Central"; but now of course, Oxford/Aylesbury - MIlton Keynes is not only on the cards, but being rebuilt. It is the Great Central corridor's turn, and had a little energy been spent to protect the corridor, we would be better off today as a result. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, efforts to reopen have come and gone, but we must learn, re-start where we are at and see the new opportunity. Essential for road and rail relief but needs acumen to draw-in bigger outlets to take an interest, do the studies we are not equipped to and court government support. It can be done and I welcome any support to help us make progress. We are facilitators and idea planters, but other folks can bridge between what we do and making it a reality please.

Great Central Corridor Re-Railing new-build makes a whole load of sense - please give your support!

 

Schemes:

1. Heathrow Links:

 

Scheme	Status
a. Reading- Heathrow
b. The Windsor Link
c. Southern Heathrow Link
d. Crossrail
e. David’s Waterloo/Byfleet-Denham Link
f. Another including Heathrow-Gatwick via Guildford, Horsham and Three Bridges?

2. Key Goals of ERTA:

a. Great Central Corridor Re-Railing

b. Lands at Calvert to be made available for Aylesbury-East-West Rail link and connection

c. new route junctioning off east-west rail west of Claydon for link near to the former Great Central corridor

d. new build domestic rail for mixed traffic (passenger and freight) with Parkway Stations at east of built Brackley – Brackley East Parkway – adjacent to A43 roundabout with connecting buses to Silverstone and elsewhere.

e. new alignment to Woodford Halse area, Willoughby and hence Barby to link with either WCML/Northampton Loop into WCML Rugby and also a terminal branch to a new station ‘Rugby Central’ with road access, parking and facilities.

f. Rugby WCML – Magna Park-Lutterworth-Narborough via Midland/GC corridor amalgam for links with through running to Leicester/Nuneaton/East Midlands and vice versa/wider connectivity for more passenger and freight movements by rail.

3. GC Corridor Re-Rail:

a. Southampton/Bristol-Oxford-Leicester/East Midlands linkages. Quicker than via Bedford for example. Relief to existing north-south radial main lines and decluttering M1 and associated trunk roads networks and urban interfaces.

b. WCML/M1 modal shift/relief/capacity and enabling more.

c. MK Central is inadequate as per capacity issues and accommodation between Bletchley-Northampton and Rugby even with HS2 and/or modal shift from roads to rail more.

d. Bedford, Aylesbury, Oxford, West London, Euston + freight + fast services and growth all vie for access to Milton Keynes and more. Can’t be done with current constraints, so GC corridor re-railing could free up for more by rail overall and ensure MK Central can cope better.

e. There is a need for a nurturing of a government tiered led plan to declutter M1 end-to-end and all in between. Unless we nurture these rail options, it defaults to more roads, road building with associated bads of congestion, delay, costs, fossil fuel burning, pollution, hazards and waste, let alone land take which could be used for more environmentally sustainable uses like rail, like housing, like farming, like conservation or employment.

f. The former GC corridor from Old Oak Common to Leicester has a growing population, is being developed rapidly and Brackley is one of the largest towns in England without ready rail access/station in close proximity.

4. Old Oak Common (OOC):

a. Chiltern needs to have 2 twin bays for terminal capacity access and enabling more, if not built-in design now, when and how and problems ahead with retrospective costs.

b. a tunnel linking Southern Rail Heathrow project to OOC and Chiltern Lines with a subsurface station for OOC connectivity (HS2, GWR, Crossrail, Underground, others) on a north-south trajectory. This would enable Portsmouth/Guildford-Aylesbury/Banbury respectively and if our GC corridor is built, Leicester and via East-West Rail, Milton Keynes, Northampton and Bedford.

c. Southall-Brentford make a through link for Reading – Waterloo lines and South London orbitals.

5. SW Main Lines – Denham new link via Byfleet:

a. needs working up with identification of population catchments it may serve

b. define stretches overground and underground approximations

c. sites for stations potentially

d. needs local government support and buy-in

needs formal studies to build the case, engineering and advocate to tiers including TfL, Greater London Authority, DFT and Treasury for example.

e. land for stations, connections and junctioning designs need to be established as per feasibility. This must include tunnel requirement specifications.

f. East-North curve not west-north as that would rival and compete with established professional campaign, we support of Heathrow Southern scheme from Woking.

R. B. Pill 15-03-2022

Conclusion and appeal: ERTA has goals, aims and wishes for aspirations to be met. We believe them to be good and in the wider societal interest. I attach a dossier put together and diagrams for your kind perusal and possible support. 

It is too easy to be prisoners of the past and past glories or failures. We need to think of where we are now and build back better investing in nurturing all-weather-proof solutions which do not cost the earth. 

Please join us in the quest for modal shift from road to rail more. We are not anti car but pro choice, which thanks to the closures is denied in many cases. We need your support and shared vision to get it moving more towards what we wish for, the re-railing of Britain.

Enquiries to richard.erta@gmail.com

Below, although not our own diagram, we thank harry Burr for this contribution:

 

ERTA Great Central Progress Update 28-03-21

Going forward these things are in our consideration:

1. Horsham-Guildford* for links to Reading and Gatwick and Heathrow. Heathrow link from Woking to extend to Old Oak Common (interchange) and a tunnel to physically link with the Chiltern Main Line. *Currently under threat from a dual canal application.

2. Rebuild Grendon-Calvert.

3. New stations at Calvert (new town mooted) and Claydon (growing satellite settlements) whether served by east-west rail trains and/or GC/Chiltern or both, we don't mind. Getting Chiltern and other operators on board would be a major step forward and any help to that end is a job in itself we welcome any offers to manage.

4. New domestic lines alongside the HS2 new corridor which assumes the old GC corridor to south of Brackley and deviates around the extended town to the east to head north-westerly, whereas our domestic line would a. provide a domestic Parkway Station adjacent to lands near A43/bus link to Silverstone b. rejoin old GC formation north of Brackley for Woodford Halse, which we are looking at carefully, as industrial style units have encroached the old trackbed and unsure on parish's view of a railway now with NIMBYISM rife v poor public transport and a dire need regionally for modal shift choices from road to rail, north-south and east-west. A document out of the quango called England's Economic Heartland (EEH) called for a Banbury-Northampton cross-country rail link serving Daventry, and that could link in with GC north-south feeding both accordingly.

5. South of Willoughby to go via North Barby to join WCML into Rugby. New construction. Needs studying carefully.

6. New build rail link out of WCML Rugby via old Midland formation/corridor serving Magna Park and Lutterworth and joining existing Nuneaton-Leicester lines at Narborough as the old route into Leicester is heavily built on. Our colleague Owen O'Neill is covering that project which we support. 2 MP's have given support to that section being rebuilt/with new interpretations.

7. Therefore our focus is on south of Rugby - Calvert and links to east-west rail into Oxford and beyond (passenger and freight) Southampton/Bristol split for example/could be part of extended Cross Country Network too.

If you feel keen and interested and/or willing to help assist with the project that is welcome. I have one man tackling councils and MP's to build consensus around the general idea and another looking at ground level at the old route today doing a list of blockages and where and his reports will be put on our website in coming months.

Please feel to join ERTA anyway, when lock-down is lifted we hope to hold meetings again. Meanwhile we do Zoom.

Here's our membership page: https://ertarail.co.uk/become-a-member/ 

All Aboard and welcome to join a Great Central Rail Reopening Zoom Meeting

Agenda for the Great Central Meeting hosted by ERTA for interested and supportive persons. 

Please contact Mr Simon Barber T. 0208 940 4399, E. simon4barber@gmail.com to go on the Zoom Listing prior to the event. We are incrementally progressing to making a start to get the ball rolling and every member and support and collaboration can count towards something greater than the sum of the parts.

Great Central Corridor Re-railing

Great Central Corridor Re-railing between Oxford/Banbury/

Woodford Halse or Oxford/Bicester/Calvert and Brackley-

Woodford Halse and onwards to Willoughby, Rugby, Barby, 

Lutterworth and the Leicester/Nuneaton Lines Gatewaying to/from 

East Midlands Direct.

Who

The English Regional Transport Association (ERTA) is an unincorporated voluntary membership-based association which takes a particular interest on the agenda of forwarding better public transport especially rail around the English Regions.

It has a growing membership across the regions and welcomes more.

What

Our concern and interest here are the re-railing of the former Great Central corridor which we believe could play a significant role in the areas and inter-regional connectives it could serve for both passenger and freight. It is not born of nostalgia but of the fact that if we are serious about climate emergency matters, modal shift pro-active is an essential ingredient to get traffic volumes, congestion and pollution down and re-railing incrementally is a key part of that.

Where

The section of Great Central corridor we are focusing on is in scope between Calvert and Narborough and possibly Banbury and Northampton as an interceptor link with mutual benefit. Places like Brackley, Woodford Halse, Willoughby, Barby and further north Lutterworth need re-railing. They are busy areas, loads of upgraded roadways, but a long way from rail connectivity.

Why

Currently trains between the triangle and all between Southampton/Bristol and Leicester/East Midlands have to go via London or Birmingham. This means few paths are available, restricts growth and takes capacity other trains could utilise.

GC re-railing would enable. Freight, South Coast-East Midlands, South West and Wales-East Midlands and all in between and vice versa.

East Midlands being a gateway to wider distribution networks. Currently there’s a feeling that East Midlands is being shadowed and second fiddle playing to West Midlands spotlight and both should be equally getting new/reopened lines and investment to optimise potential and that sustainably with a view to environmental impacts. That means rails and this is a prime example. The ambition of vague ‘defaultive capacity’ created on the backs of HS2 for example, still leaves no direct rails to/from the East Midlands but via London and/or Birmingham and that is a capacity problem compounded unless new/rebuilt rail links are provided like this GC re-railing idea. Passenger-wise direct access ‘not via Birmingham or London’ means Cross-country could be beefed up to offer more diverse services like Penzance/Paignton-York/Scarborough via Oxford/Banbury or Bicester/Brackley – Leicester and East Midlands principal stops and vice versa. New audiences and new markets.

A real chance for rail to woo off roads reliance to rails and a Nottingham-Bournemouth service is also potentially in the frame as well as new links and services between East Midlands/Leicester/Burton and Derby for example to Marylebone (London), Old Oak Common (via Princes Risborough or a rebuilt Calvert-Grendon link), Heathrow (a link between Chiltern Main Line and the Guildford-Heathrow Southern Proposal has been made to the DfT in numerous communications) and finally via a new chord onto the east-west rail Oxford lines via Bicester to Reading for example and via the Didcot avoiding lines to Bath and Bristol for example. In reverse these new flows to Leicester and beyond offer sustained flows of footfall and spend, visitorship and exploration including access to the Peak District if the Matlock-Buxton line is reinstated and Sheffield-Manchester via Woodhead. All called for rebuild in recent years to take traffic pressure off the road system and cut emissions as a result whilst enabling more mobility to all.

How

The missing rail links are between the Oxford-Bletchley line – Brackley – Woodford Halse/Banbury-Woodford Halse-Willoughby-cross WCML/M1 on new viaduct to cross back to either serve Lutterworth or a wider area station and freight interceptor station east of the Mi with links between rail and the merging M1/A14/M6 Junctions and onwards to west of M1 to link anew with the Nuneaton-Leicester existing lines. At Knighton freight for further afield and indeed a diverse passenger alternative to Leicester could be to divert to the Knighton-Burton line for quick access to Derby with connections. The Knighton ‘Ivanhoe Line’ and Leicester access lines could share the passenger and freight business on offer and enjoy more apiece. There would be plenty of business and benefit on offer and buoy up any business case and that could work back as a plus for the case to re-rail by return. It needs backers, funding study support and on-the-ground action.

Calvert or Banbury - Woodford Halse

Our original proposal wanted to take a spur off the being rebuilt Oxford-Bletchley lines onto the redundant GC trackbed to south of Brackley and via a new descent to raised trackbed in the valley to go to the east of the town intercepting the busy A43 and a bus link to Silverstone to make the most of the catchment served initially by a railhead station. The old formation was lost years ago with demolition of the old viaduct and houses built to the north of the old station. Thence a Phase 2 would be to extend to the north of the GC trackbed unimpeded with more or less relay to Woodford Halse where some realignment or relocation deal would have to be struck.

Now HS2 wants to utilise the old GC formation adding extra complication and cost and the ‘throw everything at Calvert area’ by multiple schemes of one sort or another means getting a chord onto a new domestic line alongside HS2 is potentially problematic. Moreover, the trackbed or alongside new domestic build to that of HS2 would require more land and some demolition/compulsory purchase upheaval. That is always controversial even as big brothers seem to have more ability to assume that displacement role than domestic others. So, getting to north of Brackley and indeed serving Brackley is the most expensive bit, complicated and controversial. North of Brackley, with HS2 veering away to Solihull at a north-westerly angle, we assume the old trackbed.

Another suggestion has been to utilise existing tracks and rebuild a new rail link north of Banbury to Woodford Halse with modest distances and negotiations, albeit would have to negotiate M40 and HS2 and maybe some smaller developments en route. This gets you there quicker, this cuts the cost of the Brackley link, but also means Brackley is still disenfranchised by being served by rail.

Once in the Woodford Halse area we proceed to south of Willoughby (new station) and a split with a link off serving Barby and linking to where the WCML fast and Northampton Loop lines diverge on a graded flyover which going south would veer to the west. The other GC route – old alignment would go into Rugby and have a second station (Rugby Central) and cross the WCML via new viaduct.

Our view is we don’t mid overly. Both have merit and should both be studied. If HS2 brigades were to offer to passively design rail access for domestic link to serve Brackley, that would be a kind and welcome gesture given they have no intention of providing such a station.

Both options should be studied and weighed on their merits. In terms of getting things done, the cheapest, least protracted option and quickest to deliver should be done.

Direct link to Rugby Central and beyond
We have already mentioned our suggestion of getting into Rugby (WCML) for linkage (passenger and freight). The old Rugby-Leicester formation and line would have been useful even as far as where they intercepted with the GC/M1 area so a loop and chord onto the GC ‘new build’ could be considered.

Deviations around built areas would be required. But again, the idea of a new link between Rugby and Leicester with their connectives commends itself for consideration. Likewise, a direct new viaduct GC cross and go alongside the M1 to Lutterworth/A14/M6 Junctions and onwards crossing back over or under M1 to lands west entering via a new chord to descend to flat junction link with the Nuneaton – Leicester lines.

You could have a west and east junctioning, which from the Nuneaton line direction, would enable early GC access and reduce transits along WCML between Nuneaton and Rugby for example or vice versa accessing WCML or West Midlands via Nuneaton. It is all direct routing, all new capacity and catering for growth not just on existing lines or default, but instigationally. You cannot have default capacity if the lines don’t go where the business is and that is plundering road congestion, not competing between rail companies!

Summary of Passenger AND Freight Benefits:

• Direct AND Default capacity creation
• Re-railing a corridor unserved nearby by rail access
• Taking on the roads, not other railways and operators
• Open access, open to all
• Provider of infrastructure must benefit from use
• Outlying area re-railed giving modal choice
• Regions better linked not via Birmingham or London dependent
• Direct, faster uninhibited access enabling more by RAIL
• Enabling and underpinning sustainable growth

ERTA, 24c St Michael’s Road, Bedford, MK40 2LT (01234 330090)
Join our free email loop/request this as a pdf:
E richard.erta@gmail.com

All support welcome.
1. Join ERTA
2. Join Our Teams
3. Give funds
4. Write to MP's and Councils
5. Trackbed watch and object to potential threats
6. Encourage bids for Reopenings Funding Grants to study further

7. Let's together over-come the problems and re-rail this much needed rail solution!

https://www.ertarail.com/become-a-member

Great Central Re-Rail Corridor Recovery Needed Now!

Great Central Corridors: The English Regional Transport Association facilitates Forums in various places to enable people to tap into a meeting, make common cause and turn from looking inwards to what the executive can offer to being the answer to what is needed themselves as willing volunteers.

We are thin on the ground personnel-wise. We are committed to holding Forums in Aylesbury, Rugby and Leicester – subject to demand and supply of people responding to the opportunity afforded and choosing to join, get involved and take a pro-active interest. Failure to respond, means we are limited in what we can do. The principle of reopening the Great Central Corridor are laid out in our report: https://ertarail.com/sales/ where you can buy a pdf download, gem up and by all means come back with questions but also be prepared to be part of the answer. Key areas we need people to beaver away are:

1. Join ERTA yourself and work with us as part of a team.

2. We need trackbed watchers all along the line between Narborough-Rugby via Lutterworth and south of Rugby along the Canal corridor to Willoughby and south through to Brackley and south thereof to Calvert and the spur land use potential for direct Oxford and yonder running vice versa.

3. We need people to make business cases and work at getting the case made up to acceptance by Network Rail’s GRIP process and at the Department for Transport (DfT).

4. We need people to object to planning applications and blockage threats, places like Woodford Halse are out in the sticks to non-car drivers like us, we need you to be our ears and eyes and report back.

5. We welcome people with time or talent or both to take pictures, monitor locations, lead and go with others to take delegated meetings with councils to win over to the principle of corridor re-railing, that is the goal and ticket, and can always be upgraded once established.