Dear Brad - and copied to people who can confirm, correct or deny the accuracy of what I have written here.
You are brilliant at not being so high and mighty that you cannot reply. You have the common decency and courtesy to engage and to engage honestly, too. THANK YOU! Everyone of my local politicians and officers could learn a thing or two from your fine example.
However, I still don't think it has dawned on you that the mainline railway, almost adjacent to the Waterfront, will be wasted, unused, possibly for the rest of time. A railway "of national strategic significance" being used as a shuttle "bus on rails" tram line to 'Grand Central Shopping Centre and Diesel Perfumed Basement Station', aka New St Sta. This is a most terrible waste of transport infrastructure that has already had millions of pounds spent on it and will now remain wasted, possibly for an eternity! You will never be connected to the NE and the SW of England by fast, regional and even intercity trains. Instead, you are being sold a pup - when you could have a mature, grown up dog! Instead of the tram line at double the expense per kilometre of the M6 Toll when it opened in December 2003, you could have passenger trains from all parts of the country coming to Merry Hill - as used to be the case, of course. They came to the station in Brierley Hill, itself because your site was Merry Hill Farmhouse and farmlands and the northern part was Round Oak Steelworks - either side of Level Street. This was the case from around 1850 in the midst of the ultimately catastrophic, climate changing Industrial Revolution. Even then, apparently, some scientists were warning of the terrible consequences of burning fossil fuels!
I don't think you get it, Brad. No shuttle tram but a grown up regional and even national service on the full 120 Kms. You would be able to get about that more easily in your car when driving through the Midlands. Some motorists will use the mainline railway to allow you to have a more pleasant drive on motorways with fewer vehicles!
Anyway, it doesn't matter that you cannot see the grand scheme that could be yours! You must settle for very much less than the best, as TfWM/WMCA also want. You are in good company.
14 March 2019
I wrote all that yesterday morning. I have woken up today and feel that I must add this. To be blunt, you are facilitating the permanent destruction of the UK's only/last mothballed mainline railway over 120 Kms between Worcester and Derby. The northern and southern sections are in use but the most important section is YOUR section, in the middle through the Black Country and that bypasses "one of the worst railway congestion bottlenecks in the UK", viz: 'Grand Central Shopping Centre and Diesel Perfumed Basement Station' aka New St Sta. The intention of the 'experts' is for a railway "of national strategic significance" to be used as a shuttle "bus on rails" tram line to 'Grand Central'. This is a most terrible waste of transport infrastructure that has already had millions of pounds spent on it and will now remain wasted, until humanity is passed over in favour of other life forms! Millions of pounds was spent in recent years for the flyovers and tunnels over the forgotten 56 Kms to allow new dual carriageways and motorways to be built. But the idiots forgot to go on to the next step - the rather vital trains and stations!
Your Waterfront Mainline Railway station must be connected to the shops by electric buses or by electric, driverless, elevated monorail. NOT the railway "of national strategic significance" used as a piddling little shuttle tram line. The current intention is as shocking as the chaos of our government's Brexit. It was the stupid transport planners and small minded politicians who allowed an excellent top model, Swiss monorail from Von Roll to be built and opened in, I think, 1990. Yet, the foolish, ignorant, authorities failed to connect the last 400 metres, from Waterfront monorail station, to the nationally important railway at Round Oak. Even then, the much needed commuter/regional trains and stations should have gone back - in 1990! Round Oak is almost adjacent to the Waterfront that you own.
I think, Brad that only you and your company can knock some sense into the heads of the public sector top officials, politicians and 'experts'. It is your national duty to do so. Seriously!
Very best wishes
No comments:
Post a Comment