Great Western Coffee Shop

Two articles of interest in May's Modern Railways

First is a proposal by a Colin Boocock for a high speed line to Heathrow. This would leave the GWML somewhere near Taplow and follow the Jubilee river to Heathrow where it tunnel under the airport to emerge between Southall and Hanwell with a grade separated junction.  Interesting idea but will never be built.

Second is Centro's plans for the West Midlands. This just impinges on FGW territory at Worcester where there are proposals for not 1 but 2 Parkway stations. Worcester North on Drotwich line and Worcester (Norton) Parkway at the crossing of teh cotswold and Midland line. This has it's own post on the board already.

However, their most ambitous scheme is to bring the terminal platforms at Moor Street back into use and not only link them to the Snow Hill Line but also build a trianglar junction from the Midalnd Camp Hill avoiding line at Bordesly to run services from Redditch and the South and Tamworth in the North. Fantastic idea can't see it being built.

They also want to resurrect the Stourbridge Junction Walsall freight line with possible shared use by trams from the Metro to Dudley. This line is basically intact from, but they also want to reinstate the Walsall Brownhills line to link with the Midland Derby line at Lichfield. It is interesting the Brownhills Lichfield part is still in use as a single track but where it  crosses the M6(Toll) a double track bridge has been installed. This would give a South West to North East line avoiding the centre of Birmingham.

They are also suggesting electrifying Barnt Green to Bromsgrove and making infrastructure improvements (passing loop or a section of double track) on the Redditch line. That way of the 6 trains that serve Longbridge each hour, three would go on to Redditch and 3 to Bromsgrove. I've thought for a while that such improvements would make sense, so am pleased to see that they are now being actively considered.