Dear Emma - this is a matter of honest, good governance and wise, instead of foolish, spending of public money.
GF 1764 23 Dudley Tram Extension Project
Thanks so much for your letter with the news, yet again (I wrote some years ago so knew what to expect!) that you cannot help. However, I would urge you to go to your managers to say, from me, that the rules, the law must change for you to be able to take an interest in the hundreds of millions of pounds of national government money that has been squandered, misspent by the West Midlands seven councils, since 1981. It has resulted in only 23 Kms of tramline, with 19 Kms out of the 23 Kms that have gone on one former mainline railway. Restoring the trains and stations would have been a fraction of the price. 23 Kms in 42 years when they had wanted 200 Kms by the year 2000. They now want £15 BILLION for 150 miles by 2040. In the coming years, this will be nearly all national government money to replace, mainly buses, rather than trains this time.
The auditor, Grant Thornton, has approved this waste of public money over the years. The company has far too cosy a relationship with the W Mids Combined Authority (Centro, previously). Both the internal and external auditors are best buddies, never seem to disagree and have far too cosy a relationship with the senior officers. There never seems to be any questionning, challenging, checking over what is going on. They all meet over coffee and have the most lovely time, would you believe - no exaggeration. I saw it last month before I was ushered out!
A second mainline railway - this one is even more valuable in reducing congestion, air pollution and greenhouse gases, if actually used - is being destroyed by the Metro extension from Wednesbury (the Dudley Tram. For 100 years the town of Dudley had a successful mainline railway station. Now only a little tram stop in the same place. Very bizarre!). This will add only 5.5 Kms out of the unused, wasted 56 Kms between Stourbridge Jct and Burton on Trent, on a railway "of national strategic significance" at a cost, so far, of nearly £400 million of national government funds, when it opens at the end of next year after five years of actual work on the ground and 42 years of work in total!
The final figure for the full 10.7 Kms to the middle of nowhere (who has heard of Brierley Hill?) is, this time, expected to be £650 m for trams running on 6.7 Kms of our principal, mainline railway to so nicely spoil it. It is one of only two on the western side of Brum - between it and the Irish Sea.
Very largely rebuilding a railway through the Southern Uplands of Scotland that was opened by the Queen in Sept 2015, was £350m for 50 Kms. Ours is only 5.5 Kms for nearly £400 m after only eight years have gone by. A tiny fraction of the length for even more money. SCANDALOUS. But the auditors have never picked it up. Extraordinary!
The former 100 year old Oxford, Worcester, Wolverhampton Railway Co line and the South Staffordshire Railway Company line have both been partly converted to tramline or roads or, remain available for use with every motorway, road, canal crossing in place but not finished with the rather important trains and stations!! See, from 2003, what Railfuture think:
PLEASE REPLY WITH WHAT YOU INTEND TO DO (nothing, of course. Silly me.) - including my influential, my dear James Morris, Member of Parliament. Seriously, what is the point of the NAO and my MP and all you highly paid, highly competent, highly caring auditors and politicians? I would love to know.
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