The lie promulgated by WMCA

We are given the lie that the UK's only 120 Kms mainline, half-used, railway "of national strategic significance" must be converted to a tramline, VLR test track and cycle-walkway, with passive provision being the magic solution built-in to the same tracks to allow conversion to freight and mainline railway at a later date!!

The second lie is that Metro trams, on this same track, are the catalyst to get the freight and passenger train services back on this line.  This was put out by Tom Magrath, Passenger Services Director at Centro who wrote to me in September 2000:

"Light rail provision provides the basis for restoring heavy rail services at the appropriate time."  And this remains the case to this day.  It has never been withdrawn nor, has a correction and apology been forthcoming.

THE MOST EXPENSIVE LIE, EVER!

THE MOST EXPENSIVE LIE, EVER!

The railway industry has fully co-operated with the destruction of between one-third and one-half of the total railway lines that there were built in the UK.

Our politicians and transport experts were fully in support of the closure of Wolverhampton's second principal mainline railway station and for turning most of the double-track railway line into a slow, shuttle tramline, linked to another principal mainline railway station that was demolished and then rebuilt to half of its former size, with only four platforms left (Snow Hill).

For 50 years, one of only two principal, mainline railways between Brum and the Welsh coast has been left wasted and unused between Burton on Trent and Stourbridge, despite many tens of millions of pounds having been spent on tunnels and bridges for the mainline railway to cross every motorway, road and canal.

Since 1981, the politicians and transport experts have given their top priority to putting trams back on railway lines instead of commuter and regional passenger trains and freight.  And, with breaking up the once integrated bus network into a disintegrated bus and tram network for more changes, delays and a slower public transport journey.  A CASE IN POINT:- Five Ways underpass and Broad Street closed for every bus, forever!!

Their top priority now is to extend the tram network to the HS2 line (and, well-provided for Solihull) even though they are all fully aware that the trams are replacing buses and, that this work is extremely expensive at between ten and fifteen times the cost per Km of rebuilding the Borders Railway through only half of the Southern Uplands of Scotland in 2015 and that never reconnected with Carlisle from Edinburgh.

One new electric bus is £350,000 but one new tram is costing £4 million!

HS2 is costing at least £106 BILLION to allow passengers to travel between only four cities and two airports.  There may be two stops for some HS2 trains at Crewe and Toton.  YET, every intercity train must continue to run to maintain the existing service for the many towns and cities that HS2 is too fast to stop at.  What a waste!  What ecocide in escalating greenhouse gases to turn earth into venus!  (see Wikipedia for the runaway greenhouse effect on uninhabitable venus)

It is a LIE to say that HS2 is needed so that "capacity (is) freed up on the rail network"

Best wishes    Tim