TO MALCOLM HOLMES, Executive Director, West Midlands Rail (WMR), and Director of Rail, Transport for West Midlands
Hi Adam and Malcolm - and copied to local train driver, Dave Parsons, and a Railfuture member, for their opinion/advice. Malcolm to please amplify, correct or confirm what I have written here, please.
Thanks for your decency in replying, Adam.
You wrote,
"a passenger rail service could only ever be delivered if a Rail Operating Company came forward with a business plan to develop and deliver it."
There is already a toc or train operating company! They are the tocs that use our 120 Kms Black Country Mainline Railway at the northern (Derby) and southern (Worcester) ends. If allowed, they might be willing to provide a service in the middle, as well. However, for forty years the section between Stourbridge and Walsall has been reserved for Metro trams. The tocs are forbidden to use it!
YET, this was no obstacle last decade when the contracts to run the services were up for grabs. One company, was it West Midlands Railway, wanted to extend their service to meet the tram at the Canal St tram stop with their trains from Snow Hill to Stourbridge Jct reversing out of Junction to Canal Street - and then back to Snow Hill via Junction station.
Do please, Adam press for our Black Country Railway to be finished to revive the Black Country and to compete with Brum and to bypass their New Street Sta (aka 'Grand Central Diesel Perfumed Underground Station Stuck in the Basement of the Closed John Lewis Store')
"New St Station is one of the worst rail congestion bottlenecks in the UK" - Peter Plisner, Transport Correspondent on BBC 'Midlands Today' for very many years.
Your statement was no obstacle to having the trains and stations back in Brum on their Camp Hill line or, between Wolverhampton and Walsall. Both are now finally being achieved after decades of asking but Dudley has to wait, despite the fact it is the largest UK town, by population, without a railway station!
Funny how poor old Dudley gets palmed off with second best. Actually, gets landed with the worst possible outcome. The whole mainline railway is broken up into HR, LR, VLR, ULR - and fresh air! HR = heavy rail; LR = light rail; VLR = very light rail; ULR = ultra-light rail.
Best wishes and thanks again for writing. But don't leave it there, Adam. Right is on our side!
Tim
PS
Funny behaviour by our dear betters and masters
from W Mids Climate Coalition
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