Grandiose, greedy Brum is bankrupting Britain - and it's not funny.

Perhaps, as my contribution on 13 March, it might be best to read out this, please Ed:

Grandiose, greedy Brum is bankrupting Britain - and it's not funny

You are all stupidly bankrupting Britain with the world's two most expensive transport projects, High Scam 2 and Metro trams.

The first is so fast it can't pick up or drop off a single passenger between London and Brum, apart from at Brum airport.  What use is that?

The second is so slow as it trundles so smoothly through the city centre that it is quicker to walk between the two city centre stations of Grand Central and Snow Hill.  Connecting them was the sole reason for doing it, would you believe!  Yet, you can't get off at Snow Hill because there is no tram stop there and the nearest, in Bull St is a 300 m walk to the Snow Hill platform - selfish, unnecessary, immoral Metro expenditure!

The next extravagant, greedy Metro extension is to connect Curzon St High Scam 2 station to Brum Airport when there is already a perfectly good and fast railway connection between Grandiose Central station and the airport already.  The tram is the greedy and slow connection.  Sheer stupidity!

At the most colossal expense, the tram connects Grandiose Central station with grandiose Centenary Square and Broad Street when an ordinary electric bus, without the rails, could have done the job at a fraction of the price and continued on the no 9 bus route to replace the diesel bus.

The future tram extension up Hagley Road nicely fells 1,000 trees and shrubs when millions more are needed to capture carbon dioxide to slow our ecocidal climate emergency you all so piously declared years ago - and then never acted on.  Hopeless!

SCRAP extensions to both High Scam 2 and greedy, immoral Metro.

Tim Weller

£400 m wishlist - I'm sorry, but this proves, Midlands Connect, you don't have a clue, in my opinion

 https://www.business-live.co.uk/economic-development/midlands-transport-chiefs-submit-400m-19906244?utm_source=linkCopy&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar

"£27 million to reinstate platform four at Snow Hill to allow more local and long-distance services to terminate there."

Platform 4 has been out of use to commuter and regional trains for well over 20 years when this important railway line was converted to a wealth flaunting, unnecessary, show off, "bus on rails" tramline that led to the destruction of 3 or 4 Kms of perfectly good double-track railway line and, of Wolverhampton Low Level station being converted to a conference and events centre!  And, one or two jaywalkers have been killed by the tram, too.  Tragic blunder.

"£20 million for a regionwide smart ticketing system for bus, tram and rail journeys across the Midlands"

Simply extend the regional Fare-Free Public Transport for all, that old crocks like me have enjoyed for over 13 years!  Why should elders get priority over those who really do need to travel to and for work?  Use the £15 billion to 2040 for mainly tram extensions to replace some buses.  Trams only bring even more changes and delays to public transport journeys, after all.  Now, what do they call this failure?!

"The unparalleled challenges of a global pandemic, the UK's exit from the European Union and the ongoing blight of climate change mean that decisive action, demonstrable progress and strategic innovation are more important than ever.  This is especially true for our transport network."

 Your, "ongoing blight of climate change"  should mean retrenchment, not regeneration with £400 m going into dangerously enhancing the natural greenhouse effect and, hence the climate emergency.  Spend greenhouse gases in the short term to cut them in the medium to long term.  Act on the measures many of us have proposed over the years.

Background to the monorail and Metro at Merry Hill

Please try opening the attachment, below of the magnificent white trees.  Where they stand, between Dudley Canal and the road called Embankment, has been on the published path of the trams since the 1980s.  I can assure you that the project is that old.  The route of the tram still, to this day, runs next to the towpath between Level Street and the flat land, where I would like to see housing for the least wealthy.  At that point, where I have my over 20 year old landscape enhancement scheme, the tram line turns sharply to cross the canal to terminate in Cottage Street.

Since the 1980s, the brothers, Don and Roy Richardson who built the shopping centre on Merry Hill Farm land and on the site of the steel works, also built the monorail.  I think it is very likely that because of the councillors' plans to build the tram line, their excellent monorail was never given permission to connect with the principal mainline railway at Round Oak steel terminal that should have reopened for passenger trains then, of course.  Centro and the PTA - Passenger Transport Authority - (the councillors supposedly in charge), since 1981 have been determined to rebuild the tram network that they had mistakenly closed and dismantled only twenty years earlier in the 1950s.

Centro must have known of the monorail scheme by the private sector Richardsons but must have stopped the monorail going all the way to the mainline railway because of their superior plans for a network of trams on railways and roads.  Is this correct?  What does Roy Richardson say?  He has never responded to my approaches via Ninder Johal.  He might do to yours, Brad.  The monorail terminated next to the road that was next to the canal that was next to the railway line and Round Oak steel terminal freight station.

I see the 40 year old Metro tram project as empire building by Centro and the councillors of the PTA because they thought that only flash, swanky, electric trams could attract car drivers out of their cars onto public transport.  Trams always had priority over trains for the authorities.  Even the railway industry itself - including the railway unions that have never been bothered with their railway infrastructure being lost and the decline of their own industry.

The trams took over the first mainline railway from Snow Hill station to nearly as far as Wolverhampton's second principal mainline station called Low Level, next to the present one.  Except, it fell short by 2 Kms and was not even connected to the bus station, let alone Wolverhampton High Level station that now remains in use as the city's only station.  25% of Snow Hill station remains wasted because platform 4 was used by the trams until 2016 when the tram line was extended and opened to bypass Snow Hill station and connect, instead with Grand Central Shopping Centre and Diesel Perfumed Underground Station (in the basement of the John Lewis store).

Centro (now TfWM/WMCA/MMA) and the councillors' next tram line remains to take over our second mainline railway that is even more important than the first that was spoilt by trams when they started running in 1999.  This second is the half-used, half-finished, Worcester, Black Country, Derby "railway of national strategic significance".  DfT letter, here:

 "of national strategic significance".pdf

However, clearly, it is not of sufficient "national strategic significance" for it to be finished with passenger or even freight trains.  Only, as a shuttle tram line of 6.7 Kms in two nibble sized sections of the nationally important railway, a 2 Kms test track, a trail of trees and, as a cycle-walkway, of all things.  As a result, we have to have £106 BILLION of greenhouse gas emissions (more deadly than the virus) to give more capacity after frequent stopping "bus on rails" trams have taken over railway lines!

With best wishes

Letter: 'Trains and trams together' July 2019 Railnews

Michael Denholm is not comparing like with like.  The Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Metro tram extension will have 17 tram stops at every 630 metres on average, with six to ten trams an hour on only 6.7 Kms out of the 56 Kms that are available for passenger trains from Stourbridge to Burton on Trent.  The empty 56 Kms is the desperately needed middle section on the 120 Kms Black Country Mainline Railway "of national strategic significance", says Network Rail and DfT. Trams are costing £449 million for the full 10.7 Kms of road and railway running trams.  Yet, Network Rail is parting with it knowing that Birmingham stations urgently need a mainline railway to bypass them to relieve "one of the worst railway congestion bottlenecks in the UK" (BBC 'Midlands Today' reporter Peter Plisner)

The Taxpayers' Alliance, now on my side, says reinstating trains would cost £120 m, with three new stations between Stourbridge and Lichfield because every crossing for two motorways and every main road is already built for commuter, regional and intercity trains.  Why spend nearly half a billion pounds to stop the 56 Kms from being finished with fast trains on the full 120 Kms between Worcester, the Black Country and Derby?

Our wasted, empty 56 Kms has new settlements in south Staffordshire and runs through the densely populated and traffic choked Black Country boroughs with their 1 m population and about 100 Kms of railway lines destroyed for roads and buildings over the last 50 years.  The Metro tram has resulted in only three out of four platforms at Snow Hill now being used; is responsible for converting the impressive Wolverhampton Low Level principal station into an events and conference centre; and, for obliterating three or four Kms of double track railway line on either side of this former principal and busy station.

The UK tram promotion group has its HQ in the same building as Transport for West Midlands and the W Mids Combined Authority.  Hence, for nearly four decades, the money has gone into trams instead of stopping the destruction of our railway network and in returning the fast trains to the UK's only, easily reinstated, mothballed, mainline railway "of national strategic significance".

From this damning evidence, every layman must agree that West Midlands Metro, since 1981 is responsible for the biggest and longest running scandal in UK finance/transport history.  Yet, the slow "bus on rails" trams have the full and active support of every section of the railway industry, including the unions, Railfuture and every railway periodical, including 'Railnews'!

This Land is Made of Money

3 October 2018

Should this be called stealing from the nation's taxpayers?  And an abuse of trust?

In a time of continued austerity, hundreds of millions of pounds (£1,380 million to 2026) are being spent on converting some lengths of main line railway AND bus routes into tram lines.  Other bus routes are being turned into super special Sprint diesel bus routes with limited stops that mean today’s, less flamboyant buses will still have to be provided for the stops that the Sprint misses out.  Both Metro trams and Sprint, "Metro's little sister", are phenomenally expensive to buy and install. At over £60 m/Km for replacing buses, electric trams are the second most expensive transport mode after HS2 (apart from two Japanese maglev lines).  See my ‘Transport costs per kilometre’.

In addition, buildings are still planned for the tracks and the ONLY feasible site for the re-opening of Dudley Castle Hill main line station.  This idiocy, mind you, on a principal line that Network Rail and the Department for Transport maintain is "a railway of national strategic significance" (letter to self, dated 8 March 2018, from Network Rail and Dept of Transport).

Today, the Shropshire Star has highlighted how West Midlands Railway has caused travel chaos with too few trains and one that broke down.  Would there be more trains to and from Shropshire if the line from Snow Hill to Wolverhampton Low Level had not been turned into a tram line, with the attendant loss of platform 4 at Snow Hill, Low Level station closed, plus 4 or 5 Kms of track?

I call it stunning ineptitude, corporate stupidity and financial illiteracy to disregard the costs of trams for taxpayers when the 120 Kms Black Country Railway desperately needs the return of its commuter and regional trains and stations - NOT  “bus on rails”, trams. It is criminal theft by the governing elite. If they cannot be more honest, they should be locked up. The stolen money should go to extend free bus travel for all (not just the young, the disabled and elderly, like me) and to give electric buses for all.  NO MORE ELECTRIC TRAMS!

Tim Weller (full contact details at the very foot)

timweller1@gmail.com 0791 380 4363       6 October 2018

Transport blunders in the Black Country and Brum

Rubbish railway policy in the Black Country and Brum

Bullring Shopping Centre was opened in 2003.  With rising rail passenger numbers throughout the 1990s and continuing to this day, your colleagues should have realised that additional tunnels were needed at the eastern approach to Grand Central basement station, then.  The new rail tunnels could have gone in after the demolition of the old Bull Ring and before the shops and stores were built for the new Bullring Shopping Centre.

£750 million of railway money for what is, mainly, yet another brand new shopping centre is a misappropriation of public money.  In other words, corruption.  From the BBC, I heard that Grand Central is likely to be sold to the owners of the Bullring and, Birmingham City Council will profit, as a result.  It will profit from the misappropriation of railway money when, like yourselves, they were also partly responsible for the blunder of failing to build the new rail tunnels in the 1990s.  This, when for years there had been much talk (but never any action, of course) of building an underground railway in Brum!

Both the railway industry, the DfT and Brum City Council are responsible for destroying our original tram network in the 1950s, for destroying about 100 miles of our urban rail network in the 1960s and building roads, offices, houses and trading estates on about 50 miles of former railway line.  There remains 78 Km that the transport authorities refuse to re-open for passenger trains.

78 Km of double track rail lines, some literally alongside roads with bumper to bumper traffic is complete idiocy.  But, this stupid transport policy has gone on for 50 years!

These sincere and well-meaning politicians and officers also demolished not one but two of our magnificent Victorian rail stations.  A third remains standing.  This is Moor Street Station, the closest to Grand Central but it was overlooked for connection to Grand Central in favour of the further away, Snow Hill Station.  Every train that stops at Snow Hill also stops at Moor Street.  Yet, another blunder, Snow Hill was chosen and Moor Street will never get its £100 million per mile (for construction costs) tram!

After 34 years of wasted endeavour to get Midland Metro, some rail lines remain unused and waiting for electric trams that never arrive.  The network of 15 tramlines and 200 Km by the year 2000, never arrived.  They were never delivered in that year or, even fifteen years on!

Grand Central Shopping Centre and station - the station tagged along as an afterthought and shoved in the basement of the John Lewis store - remains one of the UK's worst rail and road congestion bottlenecks.  So much for £750 million of railway money that is mostly wasted!

Please correct me, if I am wrong in any detail, above.  If no-one puts me right, I will assume that my information, here remains accurate.

Railfuture is also 'wowed' by the basement station that is the Grand Central Shopping Centre, Birmingham

Dear Lloyd

I have just read Michael Tombs glowing report on the redeveloped Birmingham station that he so approves of.  Here is another point of view.  Please could you forward this to Michael for his comment:-

36 escalators, Michael wrote but, are there any stairs from platforms to concourse?  Surely, there must be!

Bullring Shopping Centre was opened in 2003.  With rising rail passenger numbers throughout the 1990s and continuing to this day, the authorities should have realised that additional tunnels were needed at the eastern approach to Grand Central basement station, then.  The new rail tunnels could have gone in after the demolition of the old Bull Ring and before the shops and stores were built for the new Bullring Shopping Centre.

£750 million of railway money for what is, mainly, yet another brand new shopping centre is a misappropriation of public money.  In other words, corruption.  From the BBC, I heard that Grand Central is likely to be sold to the owners of the Bullring and, Birmingham City Council will profit, as a result.  It will profit from the misappropriation of railway money when, like yourselves, they were also partly responsible for the blunder of failing to build the new rail tunnels in the 1990s.  This, when for years there had been much talk (but never any action, of course) of building an underground railway in Brum!

Both the railway industry, the DfT and Brum City Council are responsible for destroying our original tram network in the 1950s, for destroying about 100 miles of our urban rail network in the 1960s and building roads, offices, houses and trading estates on about 50 miles of former railway line.  There remains 78 Km that the transport authorities refuse to re-open for passenger trains.

78 Km of double track rail lines, some literally alongside roads with bumper to bumper traffic is complete idiocy.  But, this stupid transport policy has gone on for 50 years!

These sincere and well-meaning politicians and officers also demolished not one but two of our magnificent Victorian rail stations.  A third remains standing.  This is Moor Street Station, the closest to Grand Central but it was overlooked for connection to Grand Central in favour of the further away, Snow Hill Station.  Every train that stops at Snow Hill also stops at Moor Street.  Yet, in another blunder, Snow Hill was chosen and Moor Street will never get its £100 million per mile (for construction costs) tram!

After 34 years of wasted endeavour to get Midland Metro, some rail lines remain unused and waiting for electric trams that never arrive, let alone the once popular passenger trains!  The network of 15 tramlines and 200 Km by the year 2000, never arrived.  They were never delivered in that year or, even fifteen years on!

Grand Central Shopping Centre and station - the station tagged along as an afterthought and shoved in the basement of the John Lewis store - remains one of the UK's worst rail and road congestion bottlenecks.  So much for £750 million of railway money that is mostly wasted!

Please correct me, if I am wrong in any detail, above.  If no-one puts me right, I will assume that my information, here remains accurate.

NOT Second City but Tenth Rate City!

ABOLISH THE CITY COUNCIL AND RUN BRUM FROM ANYWHERE BUT BRUM - like in my backyard in dismal Dudley! 

It started with two out of the three city centre Birmingham rail stations being demolished; only to be rebuilt to make for fewer lines and platforms, certainly at Snow Hill.  The third, Moor Street, was closed.

In the 60s and 70s we had the wholesale closure of rail lines as road congestion slowly grew.  More stations were demolished and sites used for other purposes, as we foolishly put all our eggs in the one basket of fine new ring roads and road transport.

In 50 years of urban rail closures, Longbridge to Four Oaks rail line re-opened across the city and the Jewellery line via a re-opened Moor Street Station that was foolishly closed but, wisely was never demolished - thankfully!

Since the 1980s, some of the rail lines have been left unused or underused for Midland Metro trams to further fragment the once unified rail network that once saw only trains.  Trams are now unnecessarily replacing not only trains but buses!  No evidence of even one car commuter switching to trams who could not have switched to the train, if trains had been left on that urban rail line now used by trams.  (The line was closed, presumably, under Beeching and, after some years, eventually re-opened for trams.  Utter incompetence and idiocy!)

In 34 years of fruitless endeavour, only one out of a whole network of tram lines has been opened!  More failure, more negligence and more incompetence.  And, that one line went on a perfectly good rail line, apart from a short section on road!

Trams instead of trains on 11 miles of our crowded rail network, desperate for more capacity (but not even trams on 45 miles of empty, double track rail line in Brum and the adjoining Black Country - I exaggerate not!).

Your city council and PTA/Centro have plumped for Snow Hill Sta to link with New St Sta using trams instead of the nearer Moor St Sta.  This is a piece of idiocy, when all the trains that stop at Snow Hill also stop at the much nearer Moor St!  You could have spent a tiny fraction of the money now being spent linking Snow Hill and New Street stations with trams, on a simple travelator (or moving pavement) to help bridge the distance for passengers travelling between Moor Street and New Street Stations.

Safer movement for all road users, including cyclists - and freeing up the road network - by making:

1. all the existing bridleways, towpaths and cycle/walkways fit for purpose ie - free of mud, puddles and overgrowing vegetation;
2. completing white lines on pavements for cyclists by dropping the kerbs;
3. dropping all the kerbs on access/egress points on the Harborne Line Cycle/Walkway; STILL NOT BEEN DONE!
4. completing the Bourn cycle/walkway by doing the excellent job that was done there by doing exactly the same with the two rights of way in Woodgate Valley CP - one side of the stream for walkers and horses with a soft surface and the other side for walkers and cyclists with a hard, free draining surface (preferably, a convex rough tarmac surface);
5. promote walker friendly, super-courteous and responsible cycling on shared routes;
6. re-open the 38 miles of existing double track, unused or under-used rail lines in Brum and the Black Country to make for more people being able to use the much safer rail network instead of the car or bike - many miles are alongside commuter congested roads, too.  For many decades, this has been totally stupid transport policy by the city council and PTA/Centro who should know better.
7. fund the Canals and Rivers Trust to help them make all their urban towpaths available for buggies, wheelchairs, cyclists and walkers so that the towpath network is seen as the alternative to the road network for these users that it should be.

All of this really should not need spelling out - yet again!!

Sir Bob Kerslake wrote in a key report on Birmingham City Council, "Get the basics right."  Even the basics are all to pot, as I have shown, here.