General election - policies on Transport - what should we look or ask for?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

Boris Johnson has said he is ready to fight a "tough" general election after MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament) voted for a 12 December poll.

The legislation approved by MPs on Tuesday will later begin its passage through the House of Lords, where it is not expected to be opposed.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the snap poll gave a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity to transform the country.

It looks like we have a general election in December.

Whilst I think the main topic touted by various parties and acting as a differentiator is likely to be the future relationship of the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) with the European Union, each political party's plans for transport, and each individual candidates views, are likely to be aired.  Transport issues are tied with environmental issues - climate change, clean air, congestion of resources, etc.

As well as national, international and worldwide concerns, there is an opportunity to raise more local matters with candidates during the next few weeks.  What issues should we raise at all (geographic) levels?  What are we looking for in our new chosen MPs?  Will the issues even get a look in, or are we in for a fight that looks at the very specific relationship between us and our neighbours to the exclusion of both worldwide and local issues?


My quotation at the top is a brief one.  We are, though, going to have a choice in various places between Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, Brexit Party, Green, Plaid Cymru, and others.  I am on dangerous ground here listing parties, but each of the seven I have named seems - in my view - to have a chance of winning a seat which includes a station / service operated by GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) or is near to one.

[broadgage]

I suspect that Brexit will crowd out other important issues such as transport.
The environment and climate change might get a look-in with each party promising various reviews and studies and perhaps making rather vague long term promises that avoid having to do much in the near term.

[JayMac]

At the very least I want to see acknowledgement that both bus deregulation and rail franchising have been ideological failures.

Public transport should be publicly managed, be that at national and/or local level. There are no reasons I can see that should prevent models based on what occurs in London being used across the UK^▸ (United Kingdom).

All that the privatisation models currently used nationally have done is see profits privatised and losses (aka subsidy) nationalised.

[LiskeardRich]

Brexit will black out everything else.
I expect to see plenty of allegiances and tactical voting this time for people to get their idealist Brexit outcome

[Kernow Otter]

Was it Corbyn or McDonald who memorably promised to electrify to Penzance in the first term of a Labour Government, at the last election ?

[TaplowGreen]

At the very least I want to see acknowledgement that both bus deregulation and rail franchising have been ideological failures.

Public transport should be publicly managed, be that at national and/or local level. There are no reasons I can see that should prevent models based on what occurs in London being used across the UK^▸ (United Kingdom).

All that the privatisation models currently used nationally have done is see profits privatised and losses (aka subsidy) nationalised.

Leaving ideology out of decisions, whether favouring private or public sector, is generally the best policy.

[grahame]

From the Manchester Evening News

The Chancellor has hinted a full commitment to a multi-billion pound northern rail network could materialise in the Conservative manifesto - telling the Manchester Evening News his party could ‘comfortably’ afford to pay for it.

In a speech near Manchester Airport this morning Sajid Javid was asked by the M.E.N. about the Northern Powerhouse Rail project, the huge rail upgrade northern leaders have been trying to get over the line.

The full £39bn scheme would see northern cities connected up, including from east to west, but so far Boris Johnson has only firmly committed to the Manchester to Leeds section.

However Mr Javid suggested the Tories might now go further. After announcing in a speech to supporters that he would change the party's fiscal rules to allow an extra £20bn a year of borrowing, he argued NPR could easily be funded from that sum.

“I’m not going to announce the details of the manifesto today, but let me just say this about Northern Powerhouse Rail,” he said when asked whether his party's manifesto would include a pledge on the scheme.

The Northern Powerhouse is the SnTB for the north of England.  Is this a regurgitated promise or a new one, and if it's a new one, might we expect announcements for Western Gateway, South Western Peninsular, England's Heartland and  Transport for the South East? Will these plans materialise into real, opened, new rail facilities should the Conservatives win the election?

[Andy]

I hear the Tories are pledging to invest in a £500m 'Beeching reversal fund' to revitalise towns cut off from the country (= 'England & Wales'? England?)'s railway network. How many miles of track and/or new stations would that equate to?

 

[IndustryInsider]

One maybe? 

[Andy]

One maybe? 

Station or mile? 

[Celestial]

I tend to avoid politics on social media like the plague, especially when there's an election on.  But I think it is a bit rich for a party which has cancelled electrification all over the place, sat on a Network Rail proposal to improve capacity in Manchester for 2 years, and dithered about how much of the Trans Pennine route to electrify for a similar length of time, having bigged up the Northern Powerhouse,how many years ago, to start promising £500m to open a few branch lines.

[grahame]

I hear the Tories are pledging to invest in a £500m 'Beeching reversal fund' to revitalise towns cut off from the country (= 'England & Wales'? England?)'s railway network. How many miles of track and/or new stations would that equate to?

Borders railway was about £10 million per miles (35 miles, £350 million) but that's 2012 prices and I have seen it said that there were relatives few major obstacles on the way.  At a guess £500 million today might get you 40 miles of new railway, plus or minus a few.

Now ... Skelmersdale, Wisbech, Skipton to Colne (though than may not add any towns back to the network), Tavistock, Portishead.    Ashington - Blyth - Newcastle also mentioned, although that's open for freight so may not be quite so expensive (some hope!).   Report in Daily Mail pictures "The Worcester to Derby Main Line Railway between Stourbridge and Burton" and says "Tories hope they can woo disaffected Leavers in the Midlands and the North", which ain't us ...

[Andy]

Back in 2014, £875m or so was being quoted as the cost of reinstating the inland route from Exeter to Plymouth. £90m is now being quoted for the Bere Alston-Tavistock section of that route alone, and the estimates for a Portishead reopening are in the region of £115m....

£500m spread right across the country would maybe leave GWRland with just about enough to relay the track from Carne Point to Fowey. Whether or not it would stretch to reopening the halt at Golant is, however, doubtful.

[Red Squirrel]

£655 million could get you a new front door for a tube station... https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2019/09/16/new-photos-from-london-undergrounds-bank-station-upgrade/

[broadgage]

One maybe? 

Even I consider that to be a bit pessimistic !
I would expect at least a dozen miles of track and a couple of small stations for that much.
Allowing not just for construction costs but also for newtsanbats inquiries