To cogitate over these perplexing matters

Many thanks for your email, Cathy and a very happy new year to you.

I won't come on Thursday but simply wish you to cogitate over this!  It perplexes me, somewhat!:

I do think that the massive amounts of money and weight of GHG spewed out for destroying the region's last mainline railway, "of national strategic significance", must be finished and used.  Now, in its middle section with the trams continuing down to Stourbridge Jct to connect with the national railway network.  In the other direction, NE, with trains to make for the world's first train-tram-train principal mainline railway to Walsall, Lichfield and Derby from Worcester!

In this way, decades old, 23,000 sq m of brownfield housing land, public open space, Nature and my own guerrilla garden are all saved at Merry Hill.

AND THIS:

1. 1950s total obliteration of the W Midlands tram network.
2. 1960s one third obliteration of our railway network began.  100 Kms including 7 Dudley railway lines lost!
3. 1970s demolition of Snow Hill station and immediate rebuilding to half its former size.
4. 1981 saw the start of rebuilding of 200 Kms of tramline, 20 years after their complete removal!
5. 1990s solemn statement from dear Cllr Fred Hunt, Leader of Dudley MBC to me, that WBHE tram would be up and running through Dudley town in 2000!
6. 1999 saw the opening of the first rebuilt tramline but, as a world first (?) on the mainline railway between Snow Hill station that missed out on both the railway and bus stations in Wolverhampton for the last mile.  Not very clever.
7. September 2000 saw the official letter from Tom Magrath, Passenger Services Director, Centro that put in writing what they had been saying for years:

"Light rail investment (trams on the 120 Kms Black Country Railway) provides the basis for restoring heavy rail services at the appropriate time."

In other words, trams on mainline railways are the catalyst to get their trains and stations restored.  Unheard of anywhere else in the world, I believe!

FROM:  https://governance.wmca.org.uk/documents/s8412/Minutes%2012122022%20Investment%20Board.pdf

8.  "The City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement contained an allocation of £71.5m for the very light rail regional programme, containing three elements: 

 Coventry Very Light Rail scheme; 

 Dudley Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre; 

 Mass transit options appraisal study.

It was intended that these three schemes would complement each other."

Here is £71.5 m being used for VLR when nearly 100 Kms of Heavy Rail lines EXIST in the Black Country and Brum but remain without trains and stations!  What weird and wonderful priorities.

 " ... the Director of Transportation & Highways confirmed that the very light rail vehicles would be able to operate on metro tracks should the network ever be extended to Coventry."   Thus, a multi-modal mix up of LR and VLR trams on the one set of standard gauge track leading to more changes and delays in your journey!  Coventry is already included in the 150 miles, 8 lines of Metro to 2040!