Dear Tim (Huxtable) - do you agree with what I have written? Please reply. And Max, too sir.
Patrick is so right to be furious over more delays and further big increases in costs before the Dudley Tram, aka WBHE, ever glides into even its first tram stop between Wednesbury and only as far as Dudley Transport Interchange, aka Dudley bus station.
In about 1995, to me personally, this scheme was solemnly declared would definitely be up and running from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill by the year 2000 CE. The person who was speaking was none other than the Leader of Dudley Council, at that time, Cllr Fred Hunt - since departed this life although, I believe, he did see his prize project start, on the ground, in 2019.
In the 1980s, the Dudley Tram extension was to be the third Metro tram line to be completed after Snow Hill to Wolverhampton Low Level station on the first mainline railway wrecked and, after Brum city centre extension to west of the Calthorpe Estate building in Hagley Road. That fine building was down for demolition. It gets the chop when the tram is extended to Bearwood, along with about 1,000 trees, shrubs and front gardens on the south side of Hagley Road. The Westside extension was over ten times the cost per Km of rebuilding the Borders Railway through the Southern Uplands of Scotland when it opened in 2015.
THIS IS A SCANDAL! WHAT HAS GONE SO WRONG? IT IS NOT JUST BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL!
It is now 24 years late in arriving and even by 2025, it will be only the first 5.5 Kms that will be finally finished and in use!! In fact, in one colourful glossy brochure, 200 Kms of tramway were to be in place by the year 2000, would you believe! It is now to be 150 miles by the year 2040 for £15 billion (2020 figure).
Yesterday's WMCA Board meeting revealed yet more delays, more over spending and plain shortage of funds. No wonder when the seven local authorities in the region are in no way up to the job to deliver so many massive and major transport schemes that should have been delivered, in their entirety, by Network Rail and the DfT. Only those national bodies have the experience and expertise to deliver commuter, regional and intercity trains on the UK's major London to Edinburgh railway that had 120 Kms built but, without the rather vital trains between Stourbridge Jct and Burton on Trent. Every crossing for every motorway, road and canal was built but the trains and stations were missing, forgotten. So nearly all of the missing 120 Kms/74 miles on this railway "of national strategic significance" is being turned into a tramway, a 2 Km test track for Very Light Rail and a cycle-walkway between Walsall and Lichfield, for tens of millions of pounds in price and in weight of greenhouse gas emissions!
You and other top councillors are juggling far too many balls in the air and dropping all of them. Your next trick is to come up with yet more super expense with bus franchising when you are already scrabbling around to find more money for your existing multitude of projects and clever schemes.
The three Conservative councils are right to oppose bus franchising and to support Andy Street who told me he was against bus franchising on grounds of cost. How right he was! I voted for Andy all three times. PLEASE SUPPORT HIM, NOW and oppose vigorously the waste of money that will be involved in totally unnecessary bus franchising. Stop the waste of officer time and stop consultants and auditors making further progress - and yet more expense. STOP the huge expense in buying up four bus depots and buses, etc. Concentrate on enhancing the Enhanced Bus Partnership and work towards regional Fare-Free Public Transport (FFPT) for all, PLUS THIS:
CAN YOU OPEN TO READ THIS? Please reply.
Where do I find the 508 pages report on franchising that one council leader mentioned yesterday?
Use the Metro and Sprint extension millions to get FFPT and my rewards for car commuters freeing up road space for essential users. And to finally address the climate emergency with the poor first and THEIR homes.
Tell me if I am right or wrong - PLEASE!
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