to Ed Conduit

Metro failure over 42 years continues!

Thanks for the text.  I'm lobbying TfWM/WMCA and before that Centro from the 1990s.  I've successfully fought off trams going on one important freight and passenger line in Brum (Camp Hill line) and kept trams off the 120 Kms Black Country Railway​

 "of national strategic significance".pdf

​​since my protests started in the 1990s.  However, 5.5 Kms of trams are due to open in 2024 on the second mainline railway converted to tramway (the Dudley Tram from Wednesbury to Flood St Dudley).  However 49 Kms remain wasted, unused between mainly Wednesbury and Burton on Trent of the Black Country Railway aka S Staffs Railway.  SEE MAP, below.

SUMMARY with map from Railfuture

Metro failure over 42 years continues!​

 Railfuture's full map.pdf

​Metro trams, another vanity project, have meant the destruction of two UK mainline railways that would have been of far more use if freight and passenger trains had returned instead of the trams at eight to ten times the expense per Km.  Metro top priority since 1981 has meant that 18 Kms of mainline were used for Metro One, many more regional railway lines have been left unused or, for freight only or given over to roads, buildings and to the 18 Kms for trams.  100 Kms remain wasted but available for use.  6.7 Kms run on and therefore destroy the Black Country Railway 

 "of national strategic significance".pdf

that is the UK's only principal mainline still awaiting its freight/passenger trains in the middle 56 Kms between Stourbridge Jct and Burton on Trent on the Black Country Railway.

NOTES:

Metro expansion is second only in expense to HS2.  Last UK rebuilt railway opened in 2015 was £7m/Km.

150 miles = 241.4 Kms for £15 billion (Jan 2020 figure) makes it at £62m/Km, nearly four years ago.

In 42 years for the most enormous expense, only a miserly 25 Kms of tramway has ever been built.

And all grossly over-promised.  200 Kms were promised by the year 2000!