LRT Solutions - or think again?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-42719544?SThisFB

And yet we have the dichotomy of on the one hand everyone prescribing LRT as a panacea to urban rapit transit needs - cutting traffic and pollution - and the fact that we do not see a rolling programme of cheaper solutions like Parry People Mover - which does not need Overhead Power Lines - being stifled from being rolled out as part of a national programme - Weymouth Quay would be a good start to demonstrate versatility. Cost is mooted as a prohibitive factor and austerity another/no money, but continentals seem to do it and Manchester seems to be doing well - what and where is the role of Governments to set standards and regulate whilst ensuring a rolling programme/learning lessons? The rail lobby seems diversified on these matters with hot and cold but few tangible schemes. Milton Keynes, Oxford, Cambridge and Northampton all seem worthy candidates and if Nottingham, why not Leicester too, alas hard to know why if no rail magazine journalist does the groundwork!

Support the Leicester-Heathrow-Brighton 'not via London' project

Basically we want a through semi fast service from Leicester - Brighton via a new Heathrow sub-surface station 'not via London' freeing up loads of seats, saving time and giving rail users a pleasurable experience travelling by rail. For this project to proceed we need big backers to be sourced and enticed to take an interest. Rebuilding Great Central south of the Leicester-Nuneaton line to Calvert and Calvert - Grendon - is one phase. Seconly but not necessarily after but ideally alongside is rebuilding Guildford-Brighton via Horsham. Horsham for access to Gatwick from the south, minimising path take duration on the Brighton Main Line. Linking Gatwick with Heathrow direct by rail would be a good thing regardless of your views or poltics over Heathrow itself or not. A third phase is that bodies have called for Guildford-Woking-Heathrow but stop short of advocating a through route to link without changing trains to Old Oak Common and the Chiltern Main Line for onwards to a variety of destinations. Guildford has direct links with Reading and Oxford for example, Heathrow - the corridor - Brighton and Calvert is to be made into another new town of some size - will want better links and journey routing than just access to London or Milton Keynes for example. We have to offer seamless journeys and the Great Central would be handy for passenger and freight capacity creation, end to end via core route utilisation and bring back to the rail network Brackley, Daventry/Southam and Lutterworth. Fine detail needs working out but our strong belief is that the diverse market dynamic makes it a worthy countender for more studies and business case making and once that is forth coming by potential investors, firmer commitments to see it as a project maybe in alliance with TOCs and the company charged with building East-West Rail - they could all feed each other. Accommodation into the tracks at Calvert is critical to find a way and let's hope HS2 and the East-West Rail can include provision for a flyover / grade separated access to/from GCML and Calvert-Grendon for example. If you support or are interested please join ERTA and swell our ranks as we need teams of volunteers to help us on a number of fronts. Enquiries to T. 0208 940 4399, E. simon4barber@gmail.com

Free PDF available on Transport Plan

If anyone wishes to recieve a free pdf of our response to Northamptonshire County Council's hollow Rail Strategy 'Fit for Purpose' Report of 2013 please email richard.erta@gmail.com.

Re-Rail Northamptonshire! Wasting Money on Whitewash Reports which fail to grasp the nettle of what's needed - re-railing!

Reports which fail to grasp the nettle of what's needed - re-railing!

If the objectives of the Report January 2013 'Rail Strategy - Fit for Purpose' is to have any credence and substance that must incorporate route protection, recovery and a rail reopenings agenda surely? County lies east-west arcingly sandwiched between the London Southeast/Eastern Regions and East and West Midlands. The rail lines are all north-south through the county without any linking east-west lines which is perverse and absurd, made more by the fact this report seems dismissive of such an aspiration or at least as long as undefined 'others' pay for it, hiding behind an undefined 'commercial business case' as the pre-requisite to entertaining, but widening congested roads, building new roads and adding more congestion and parking/land use allocation and cost managing capacity seems fair cop, rather than solutions through choice of mode. People and communities need their rail links back, especially radial of the County Town and ERTA calls for just that progressively, starting now in aspiration mode and delivery over a 20-year period. Otherwise it is bust and hollow rhetoric and whitewash. If any want a pdf copy please email richard.erta@gmail.com and let me have any feedback or join ERTA and fight for rail's return and be part of the answer to the silent deficit: https://ertarail.com/events/

Is anyone listening to our cries to include Bedford in East-West Rail?

http://www.englandseconomicheartland.com/latest-news/Pages/realisingeastwestrailpotential1.aspx

This is intrisically laudable but misses Bedford out in article and substance of rail inclusive physical build. 

Railfuture seems divided between progressive and reductionist camps on reopenings/rebuilds/type of new builds.  

Our goal can be to welcome this north-south initiative but to stress:

1. There must be a through link between Chiltern Main Line - OOC- Heathrow-the Heathrow-Woking-Guildford line for Guildford-Northampton/Rugby (works until we get agreement for GCML restoration as a relief route bringing Daventry, Brackley and the new town of Calvert into re-railing and a new corridor in its own right.

2. Bedford. Bedford-Northampton. For Luton Airport and Cambridge. Bedford to be included in the track design and not bypassed. But it is debatable whether 2026 HS2 will mean more train paths on WCML - rather maybe some extra seats on existing services = a subtle difference. Thus the do-ability of Northampton-OCC beyond tokenism means that we need WCML relief lines - Bedford-Northampton-Bletchley looping and GCML south of Rugby some how. These must be priorities in discourses, emails and meetings in 2018. It is a critical phase. Yes, good something IS happening, good that SOMETHING is better than NOTHING, but it needs fine tuning and thinking through and the politicians seem to be ignorant of operational matters on existing lines beyond overcrowding and a development across the Oxbridge Arc of the size of Birmingham will exacerbate the capacity issues into London. 

3. Again Cambridge-Bedford-Northampton would free up Felixstowe-West Midlands freight paths through MK Central for example creating paths - so we need MP's on side along BON corridor and common agreement along GCML south of Leicester and Rugby that GCML corridor must be saved over a 20 year period and this should be their policy and intent pursuant of transport. Anything less is a dereliction to plan for a mid 21st century transport and demographic crisis. Yes we'll be gone maybe by then, but none-the-less we can use it to invite support for our ERTA modest agendas!

Glossary:

OOC = Old Oak Common

WCML = West Coast Main Line

GCML = Great Central Main Line

BON = Bedford-Olney-Northampton

Great Central Bash

You can support and follow the efforts to salvage the Great Central corridor south of Leicester-Nuneaton and north of Calvert. Follow these links:

https://ertarail.com/great-central/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReopenG8Centra

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/G8Central/

You can help by:
1. Joining ERTA
2. Offer 1 hour a week of time and talent to help and assist us in the effort
3. Write to your local MP c/o House of Commons, Westminster, London, SW1A 0AA
4. Encourage others likewise. Thank you.

Guildford-Horsham et al

Follow this link: http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/guildford-horsham-railway-line-reopen-13970405

Join us as a member of ERTA to cement support and action: https://ertarail.com/membership/

Everyone can contribute something.

Join us on Twitter also: https://twitter.com/L2Bnewraillink