How is it that patriotic, flag waving, Great Brexit Britain is buying foreign built "bus on rails" trams, at ten times the price of a double decker bus, to wreck any possibility of our British built hydrogen electric trains completing the full 120 Kms Black Country Railway?
Slow, frequent stopping trams preventing forever the train that, last year, we sold to Germany - 14 British hydrogen electric trains are now in use in Lower Saxony.
Turning a 120 Kms mainline railway "of national strategic significance" (Network Rail/DfT) into a piddling little tram line of 6.7 Kms is the ultimate stupidity that Black Country councillors, MPs and transport 'experts' have wanted for the last 37 years. In 1999, the tram on another commuter railway destroyed one Wolverhampton mainline station, 2 Kms of railway line and, platform 4 at Snow Hill station remains unused since the tram bypassed Snow Hill station two years ago. The sole reason for the £60m/Km extension was to link Snow Hill to Grand Central that it does not do! Such is their incompetence and folly and, dishonesty in getting the money under false pretences.
Central government, on the 8 March, finally recognised the importance of the 120 Kms strategic, nationally important railway between Worcester, the Black Country and Derby. Because of devolution, it seems they are powerless to stop the idiocy of the W Mids Combined Authority and the incompetence of Mayor Andy Street and his transport lead, Cllr Roger Lawrence. Incompetence, idiocy and irresponsibility in spending an official £343 million to turn the unused 56 Kms Black Country section, out of 120 Kms, into a 2 Kms test track in the middle of 6.7 Kms of tram line, a cycle-walkway, a trail of trees and Himalayan Balsam and, 6 Kms of freight only railway line. They have approved a £30 million Very Light Rail innovation centre to go on the only feasible site for Dudley’s mainline station that was so successful for 100 years and would be again if they used this existing railway, “of national strategic significance”, for regional and commuter trains.
Both well-meaning but hopeless politicians should resign - now.
Tim Weller 12 April 2018
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