FROM Phil Wears of St'bge FoE

YOU ASK:  "However do you think passenger numbers would be low with this big 'central place' missed out. So would the gain be more for freight?"  

MY ANSWER:  NO, for passengers.  A "big central place missed out" (the 1 m population of the Black Country) means lots of people and lots of potential passengers.  Do you agree, Phil?  Even more important for freight because of passenger services returning to the Kings Norton, Kings Heath, Moseley freight railway - one success, after decades of asking!

1. Our Black Country is not so small and insignificant that it is not allowed to have half a billion pounds of Metro trams!
2. Brum is very big but so is the Black Country.  Each has about 1 mill population.
3. Our Black Country is as congested and polluted as Brum
4. Dudley has already destroyed SIX of its railway lines!  The 120 Kms Black Country (Bypass Brum) Railway is the seventh and last!
5. OUR railway is already built and runs underneath congested M6 at Jct 9 Wednesbury.
6. Every bridge, tunnel, underpass and flyover is/are already built.
7. 'Grand Central Diesel Perfumed Underground Station Tucked Away In The Basement Of The Closed John Lewis Store' is so congested with train services that they need some train services to go through the four Black Country boroughs instead!
8. This had been known about for decades when railway passengers numbers were doubling over 25 years to 2020!
9. There are plenty of train services to the east of Brum but only one between the W coast of the UK and Brum!  That one is Crewe, Shrewsbury, Hereford line.
10. They want freight and passenger trains back but think trams must be put on first!
11. OUR railway is "of national strategic significance"