Severn Bridge tolls

[whole diary]

[jdw.wor]

You get charged for LEAVING England not entering!

[johnneyw]

If only the link Grahame added on his post (2 posts back) was true. The term "no brainer" is not always applicable but it is with a station at Aztec West. It would also be about the closest that Metrobust integrates with the rail system.

[didcotdean]

I guess the same degree of consultation was made for this (re-)naming as done for the 'Elizabeth Line'.

[johnneyw]

Now, what do people think of the renaming of the Second Severn Crossing? The Prince of Wales Bridge.

well

Labour Cardiff Central MP^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post (a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London), depending on context) Jo Stevens accused Mr Cairns of "wasting time on PR^▸ (Public Relations) projects".

"No tidal lagoon, no post-Brexit replacement funding, no rail electrification to Swansea but the Tory Secretary of State has managed to get a bridge renamed," she said.

I hope the renaming wasn't as expensive as the electrification to Swansea would have been!

It's good to see a smaller project near Pilning going ahead - perhaps that will set a precedent for another

Blinkin' flip! I've just realised that I've actually been quoted on that "spoof" proposal on the above link. It's genuine, I did write it, either on the forum or possibly on something like an old FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) survey. A lot of the other quotes look a little more spurious though!

[grahame]

If only the link Grahame added on his post (2 posts back) was true. The term "no brainer" is not always applicable but it is with a station at Aztec West. It would also be about the closest that Metrobust integrates with the rail system.

You keep telling 'em, I'll keep suggesting it, and somewhere the penny might drop.  It won't come from here, but it may be a brilliant idea that a politician thinks of in the next few years ...

But did you see how costly it would be?

[johnneyw]

I fear the full proposals would cost a tad more than the projection but would still be good value for money.

[grahame]

I fear the full proposals would cost a tad more than the projection but would still be good value for money.

It could do ... depending on who and how you get to plan and build it and whether you let a few years inflation get in the way. I'm sure you could add plenty of bells and whistles to eat up a few more million.  One lift, no bridges, no trackwork.  No public toilets. More controversially, no long public consultation but rather a shorter period of checking around.  You may add a second access / flight of steps at the Welsh end of Aztec West and get them sponsored by the businesses that would benefit.

[johnneyw]

I fear the full proposals would cost a tad more than the projection but would still be good value for money.

It could do ... depending on who and how you get to plan and build it and whether you let a few years inflation get in the way. I'm sure you could add plenty of bells and whistles to eat up a few more million.  One lift, no bridges, no trackwork.  No public toilets. More controversially, no long public consultation but rather a shorter period of checking around.  You may add a second access / flight of steps at the Welsh end of Aztec West and get them sponsored by the businesses that would benefit.

Yes, banish completely the malaise of long public consultations and GRIP^▸ (Guide to Railway Investment Projects - Network Rail's process for project management of schemes through development and implementation) with a carefully measured dose of JFDI^▸ ('just flipping do it' (polite version)).

[Bmblbzzz]

So it's going to be the PoW Bridge. Hmmmmm...

[JayMac]

So it's going to be the PoW Bridge. Hmmmmm...

[welshman]

A straw poll of everyone I've spoken to about it today has expressed incredulity about the decision to call the SSC^▸ (Signal Siting Committee) the PoWB.  (Other descriptive terms are available - none of them complimentary).

[TonyK]

Hardly seems to have carried the mood of the nation, has it? And will it be Pont Tywysog Cymru on the way back? (With apologies for any unmutated consonants)

[Tim]

The reduction in tolls is welcome, as is their abolition later this year.

Now, what do people think of the renaming of the Second Severn Crossing? The Prince of Wales Bridge.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-wales-43647151

I'm in agreement with fellow republicans. Just so unimaginative to name it after Brian.

Why couldn't there have been a public vote on a new name? Bridgey McBridgeface would have been so much better. 

I am a very slight republican but renaming the bridge after the PoW irks me for another reason.  It just strikes me as not especially British to name bit of public infrastructure after prominent people.  It is the kind of thing that they would do in France or America where every airport or bridge is named after some famous person or other.  There is even an airport in America which manages to shoe-horn the name of two presidents into its title (Ronald Regan Washington National)

[grahame]

Perhaps they could choose a name from the 100 Welsh Heroes list ... or from 100 English Heroes for the sake of equality

[TonyK]

Part of Banbury Hospital, where my first grandchild was born, is named after my late grandmother.

She was Mrs E Ward.