DfT sifts 60 new rail plans

[whole diary]

[Robin Summerhill]

...so it's a cheapo bridge (£850,000) with steps or nothing.

Is this an oxymoron?

Bearing in mind that the labour and material costs to build a couple of 5-bed detachd houses would be less than that,  I would be very interested to see the Bills of Qantities to see what materials are going into it. There must be some gold-plating somewhere...

Either that or something serious needs to be done about Network Rail's (NR^» (Network Rail - home page)) costs, which ultimately we are all paying for.



Edit:VickiS - Clarifying Acronyms

[Hal]

Oxford Mail reports today that reopening Wantage Road station is on the shortlist for consideration as part of this scheme.

[TonyK]

Oxford Mail reports today that reopening Wantage Road station is on the shortlist for consideration as part of this scheme.

Good news. This was suggested in the "Connecting Communities" report of 2009.

[paul7575]

Surely this isn’t a “shortlist” yet, with the 50 items intended to be severely trimmed by Department for Transport (DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)) & Network Rail (NR^» (Network Rail - home page))?   

Paul

Edit:VickiS - Clarifying Acronyms

[Andy]

Does anyone know if the list will be/has been made public at some point and/or what other schemes in GW^▸ (Great Western)-land are on it?
Thanks.

No immediate list, but question has been asked.

From Business Live

Listing the second batch ... and not sure what the definition of "South West" is.   I suspect it does not include Wiltshire, nor the Southampton area, where I am pretty sure of a couple of applications.

The 18 South West bids

Ashburton and Buckfastleigh Junction Railway
Bristol West Capacity Enhancement
Charfield Station
Cirencester Community Rail Project
Goodrington and Churston Stations
Improvements at Pilning station and reinstating the footbridge to platform 2
Increased service provision Bodmin General – Bodmin Parkway
Light railway extension to the Barnstaple Branch (Chivenor Braunton) “TawLink”
Mid Cornwall Metro
New Station for Langport and Somerton Area
Primrose Line
Project Wareham – Complete the link
Radstock railway reinstatement
Reinstatement of Bodmin – Wadebridge railway and associated works
Restoring secondary services on the Great Western Main line
Shepton Mallet (Mendip Vale)
St Anne's Park station
Transforming the Newquay Line

List sorted into alphabetic order to avoid any hint of meaningful categorisation.

Apart from the unclear "restoring secondary services on the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line)", there are a couple of other titles that aren't very informative. Does anyone know what the "Mid Cornwall metro" proposal is about or what the Newquay line transformation project contains?

[Celestial]

Apart from the unclear "restoring secondary services on the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line)", there are a couple of other titles that aaren't very informative. Does anyone know what the "Mid Cornwall metro" proposal is about or what the Newquay line transformation project contains?

Metro seems to be becoming a misused term to big up a local transport network that is nothing like one.  To me, a Metro is a very frequent metropolitan area (clue is in the name) rapid transport network with stops every couple of minutes. Turn up and go should be the norm.

As an example, we have the South Wales Metro, which is probably just about believable as a term, given the frequencies and type of vehicle involved. But then as a sop to North Wales, there has to be a North Wales Metro, which unless I'm mistaken will be nothing more than a normal decent (hopefully) train service.

The Mid Cornwall Metro I'm guessing will fall into the latter category, though I'll admit I know no more than that about it.

 

[Andy]

Apart from the unclear "restoring secondary services on the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line)", there are a couple of other titles that aaren't very informative. Does anyone know what the "Mid Cornwall metro" proposal is about or what the Newquay line transformation project contains?

Metro seems to be becoming a misused term to big up a local transport network that is nothing like one.  To me, a Metro is a very frequent metropolitan area (clue is in the name) rapid transport network with stops every couple of minutes. Turn up and go should be the norm.

As an example, we have the South Wales Metro, which is probably just about believable as a term, given the frequencies and type of vehicle involved. But then as a sop to North Wales, there has to be a North Wales Metro, which unless I'm mistaken will be nothing more than a normal decent (hopefully) train service.

The Mid Cornwall Metro I'm guessing will fall into the latter category, though I'll admit I know no more than that about it.

 

Yes! With the improved frequency of mainline services already in place, and the Falmouth branch pretty much at max. capacity, I am struggling to imagine what  a Mid Cornwall metro could mean. I wonder if it might be an alternative proposal to 'transform' Newquay line services.

[Lee]

"Tell me, it is your proposal, isn't it?"

"You've been working on it for 7 years."

"For the last time, what is the Mid Cornwall Metro??"

"I don't know! Nobody Knows!!"

[grahame]

...

Yes! With the improved frequency of mainline services already in place, and the Falmouth branch pretty much at max. capacity, I am struggling to imagine what  a Mid Cornwall metro could mean. I wonder if it might be an alternative proposal to 'transform' Newquay line services.

Burngullow to St Dennis Junction, train service every 30 minute from Falmouth Docks to Newquay with a St Austell reversal and new stations at Probus, Grampound Road, Burngullow and Treliscoe?

[TonyK]

Metro seems to be becoming a misused term to big up a local transport network that is nothing like one.  To me, a Metro is a very frequent metropolitan area (clue is in the name) rapid transport network with stops every couple of minutes. Turn up and go should be the norm.

Nowhere is the term more misused than in Bristol, with MetroBust. It acquired the name when the previous BRT^▸ (Bus Rapid Transit) brand, for Bust Rapid Transit, got too toxic. Someone will have to come up with a new branding. The idea of adding "Plus" to the end was killed off by Jobcentre Plus - I worked there, and never spotted the difference. "Mega" has gone to the cheap coaches run by Stagecoach. "Super" is right out.

[Red Squirrel]

Don't get me started. Oh, sorry, you did...

[rant]
At least these other non-metropolitan metros contain the name of the place they serve. MetroBus could be anywhere in the world; indeed if you google it you'll find systems with this name in Australia and the USA as well as others in the U.K. Why? Because Bristol's neighbours will not allow the word 'Bristol' to be used in connection with any system which extends beyond the limited boundaries of the city.

Accepting thus that the name 'Greater Bristol Metro' is an impossibility, you might think that the local rail initiative for this region would be called MetroRail. That would seem like a logical companion to MetroBus, wouldn't it? Quite. Hence MetroWest, which could be anywhere or anything.
[/rant]

[RichardB]

"Mid Cornwall Metro" is about linking Newquay, St Austell, Truro and Falmouth.  Cornwall Council also want to look at what's next for the Falmouth line.  It doesn't include Burngullow - it's just too expensive for now.

The Newquay proposals are about the capacity improvements needed to increase frequency on the existing line with an hourly service being the ultimate objective - reinstating a second platform at Newquay in the mix. 

[grahame]

"Mid Cornwall Metro" is about linking Newquay, St Austell, Truro and Falmouth.  Cornwall Council also want to look at what's next for the Falmouth line.  It doesn't include Burngullow - it's just too expensive for now.

The Newquay proposals are about the capacity improvements needed to increase frequency on the existing line with an hourly service being the ultimate objective - reinstating a second platform at Newquay in the mix. 

Many thanks, Richard - they saying "Google is your friend" came to mind for researching this one, but in this instance I found it not to be my friend (or if it was my friend, it was of the silent, secret-keeping type).

The elements being further evaluated or proposed for further evaluation look and sound utterly logical.

[CyclingSid]

Because Bristol's neighbours will not allow the word 'Bristol' to be used in connection with any system which extends beyond the limited boundaries of the city.

Substitute "Reading" and it sounds like the same harmonious relations between Reading and its neighbours.

[eightonedee]

Or (all too often) almost any local authority area and its neighbours, especially when the local authority in question is a large town or city.