Thursday 3 March 2022

CHRONIC, CHRONOLOGICAL RAILWAY DISASTERS

1950s - closed and dismantled the tram network that was all on roads and NOT railways.

60s - demolished and rebuilt Brum's mainline station and put it under ground.

Began closing over 100 Kms of passenger railway lines in the West Midlands.

70s - demolished Brum's second most important station, realised their little slip-up and rebuilt it to half its former size.  8 platforms went down to 4.

Destruction of railway lines continued apace.

80s - started four decades of largely fruitless and massive expenditure to get a tram network back.  The first three lines were to be on mainly disused railway lines.

90s - one line opened in 1999 on the mainline from Snow Hill to Shrewsbury via Wolverhampton Low Level.

Cllr Fred Hunt, Leader of Dudley Council told me in the mid-90s that his Dudley Tram would be up and running by the year 2000.

00s - More millions squandered to get a tram network back as the railway lines were used for everything but the kitchen sink, including for trams.

10s - 50th anniversary of the destruction of our urban railway network.  And failure to reopen 106 Kms of mothballed or freight only railway lines.

In 2019, work began in earnest on the WBHE aka the Dudley Tram.

Metro and HS2 have been the excuses for not reversing the Beeching urban cuts.

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