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

MY CONDITIONS FOR WITHDRAWING TO FAVOUR ANDY

And copied into the Mayor's Office for their information and action to get me on board, out of the running and well out of the way - please!  MAYOR'S OFFICE, please confirm receipt and action, quickly.

My conditions for withdrawing to help Andy in 2020

I also think Andy was an excellent choice and hope he gets in, again next year.  I do like him and support him whenever I can.  I really don't want to take votes off him, if I do go ahead with standing as an Independent.  But, he must be outspoken against tram extensions; but, for putting the commuter/regional trains and stations back, starting with the completion of the 120 Kms Black Country Railway - extremely urgently and before the Camp Hill line; and, introducing a sea change in our commuting habits.  That is, twelve month, A456 Hagley Road experiment of:

• never taking the car into Brum city centre unless it is essential for your major business livelihood or, there are at least two adult passengers in the car.  Strict enforcement by random roadside checks when traffic is stationary; and CCTV.  Hefty financial penalties for transgressing.  Once you are down to one passenger or solo, you must go into the slower, outside lane immediately.
• This is done by 100% bus lanes on every nearside lane of the no 9 bus route and traffic light priority for buses and other vehicles permitted in the bus lane.
• Cancellation of elite, very expensive Sprint to allow for every bus to be similarly favoured.  The roll out of Platinum buses makes Sprint unnecessary at this time.
• Electric buses, asap, must be the mass transit for commuters and not anymore tram extensions.

MASS TRANSIT FOR ALL AND NOT THE LUCKY FEW on a tram line.

Will it take school children to shame us into action?

Dear Deborah, Laura and Waseem

I am hoping to stand as an Independent candidate in next year's election for Metro Mayor because I am so concerned that after fifty years of studying, working and living in the Black Country and Birmingham, road traffic congestion is as bad as it has ever been.

I am asking if you two chief officers and leaders in our community, would please consider giving bus passengers faster journeys into the city centre at the expense of car commuters.  Modal shift from car to bus, in particular is urgent, if only to free up road space for essential car users who need to get about on their lawful business.  Quite apart from the urgent action needed to drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

My own suggestions are these:

1. An experiment on Hagley Road from Halesowen bus station to Five Ways where the nearside lane that carries a bus route is used in its entirety for buses, coaches, taxis, bikes and three to a car sharing.
2. Car sharing for the driver and two passengers over 18 to use the bus lane.
3. Legitimate vehicles in the bus lane to have traffic lights weighted in their favour to the disadvantage of the outside lane.  Or, only buses approaching a traffic light changes it to green.
4. Has this been tried anywhere else in the world?  What do progressive nations like Norway do to boost bus use?
5. Can we learn from TfL who seem to be more successful in getting people to use buses?
6. There is a total of £1.41 BILLION to 2026, for five tram extensions, now going into digging up roads on the nearside lane to replace some buses and to prevent commuter/regional trains from returning to our full 120 Kms mainline railway.
7. Instead of "buses on rails" on rails on roads, buses on roads.
8. Can this money, under devolution, be used to slash bus fares or to even give fareless buses for all and not just the few lucky ones like me?  And, the money used to speed the transition to electric buses?
9. Random or constant camera enforcement at traffic lights.
10. Every bus becomes a Sprint bus.

Is any of this practical?  There has never been an experiment of this nature, as far as I am aware.

Can my suggestions be officially put on the table for you all to discuss, please?  I welcome being put on the spot with difficult questions slung in my direction!

With best wishes

Sprint is extravagant and unnecessary

Sprint is far too expensive and is NOT even electric.   “Low emission vehicles (Euro VI or better emissions, with an aspiration to operate with zero emission vehicles when practicable)”

Use the money to extend free bus and tram travel from the disabled and elderly like me to EVERYONE and start a sea change in attitudes to free up road space for those who really do need their vehicles for their businesses.

Bus use is declining, routes cut and fares rising faster than inflation.  In the House of Commons, at PMQs in July, Jeremy Corbyn said, "Fares are increasing, routes cut, passenger numbers falling, isolating elders and disabled people, damaging communities and High Streets and causing more congestion in our towns and cities.  People are spending more time to travel to work and school. It is bad for our climate change commitments, bad for our air quality. Often, the only mode of transport for many people is the bus."

THEREFORE:

Turn the nearside lane into bus lanes instead of digging up the roads for trams.

Give traffic light priority to ALL buses with their fareless passengers.

Use the money to give us ALL electric buses.

Use Metro and Sprint money to bring ALL towpaths and bridleways and shared footways into use by cycles.  Smooth all weather surfaces, please.

Use the money from abandoning the WORLD’S  FIRST project to turn a mainline railway into a tram line.  This is the 120 Kms Worcester, Black Country, Derby mainline “of national strategic significance” into a piddling little tramline of 6.7 Kms plus, of course, a test track, trees and, Japanese knotweed!

TELL THESE VIPs AND COUNCIL LEADERS WHAT YOU THINK:

andy.street@wmca.org.uk andrew.browning@wmca.org.uk cllr.mike.bird@walsall.gov.uk roger.lawrence@wolverhampton.gov.uk rsleigh@solihull.gov.uk   Ian.Ward@birmingham.gov.uk Cllr.Patrick.Harley@dudleymbc.org.uk steve_eling@sandwell.gov.uk george.duggins@coventry.gov.uk