|
Btline
|
 |
« Reply #15 on: December 30, 2008, 22:37:07 » |
|
For interest the number of vehicles using the M6 Toll is falling significantly. I'm not surprised at ^4.70 each way (from this weekend).
Good, so hopefully plans will be drawn up for tolls to be scrapped. Let toll roads remain in Europe where they belong! |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
John R
|
|
« Reply #16 on: December 30, 2008, 22:45:12 » |
|
http://www.m6toll.co.uk/newsdetail.asp?id=94if anyone is interested. At least the stats don't get published annually , over a year after the end of the period, as station footfall stats are.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
bemmy
|
|
« Reply #18 on: January 16, 2009, 11:12:03 » |
|
I suppose it's too much to expect the DaFT» , SWRDA» and Bristol City Council to take note of these problems before they rush headlong into wasting millions on a similar fiasco for the Bristol area.  |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lee
|
|
« Reply #20 on: January 20, 2009, 10:01:42 » |
|
I have received this from Mark Ranger of CAST.IRON (see http://www.castiron.org.uk/) : The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway has been put back until around September 2009. They, apparently, have had some construction problems as a result of the wet winter (something to do with laying concrete onto a flooded fenland), the gas board have realised that a mains pipe running alongside the main route needs to be replaced/repaired and the underbridge by Cambridge station that will take the busway south towards Addenbrooke's Hospital has proven far more difficult to build than was anticipated. The contractors are also in dispute with the council regarding an overspend to budget projections.
The council's spokespeople have glibly suggested that this is not too much of a problem as the new development at Northstowe, which provided much of the rationale for the busway, is on hold at the moment.
Which won't come as much comfort to the thousands of people stuck on the A14 each day, whose journey will still be blighted. And of course once the busway is up and running, the impact on the A14 - at best - will be negligable.
It's nice to be able to sit back and take a 'I told you so' stance, but all of us at CAST.IRON find this very difficult to do, given the monumental waste of public money that is being spent on this ill thought out and politically motivated scheme, when our railway option, whilst not perfect, would have been up and running some time ago.
The key to all of this, from my personal opinion, is that a traffic project seems to have to tick boxes in order to get backed. Our scheme came along at the same time as a scheme (the guided busway) that had some very heavy government ink ticks on it, and nothing that we could say would get them to deviate from that. Mark has registered as a member of the forum, and I look forward to reading his future contributions. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Btline
|
|
« Reply #21 on: January 20, 2009, 20:44:17 » |
|
Is there anyway now for this scheme to be scrapped?
It angers me - yet another perfectly good rail line being destroyed for good!
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
MarkRanger
|
|
« Reply #22 on: February 11, 2009, 14:51:25 » |
|
I am afraid the scheme will not be scrapped now. There is so much political capital (as well as taxpayers money) invested in this scheme, that there is no way they will let it go until such time as it comprehensively collapses. I see now though that they are working on the northern station for Cambridge - another ^20m ( www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn%5Fnews%5Fhome/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=389533) The irony about this is that our (CAST.IRON's) plans to keep the railway would have offered much of what is now being proposed. Even after the go ahead was given for the so called misguided bus, we approached Network Rail to see about keeping the mainline connection at Chesterton Junction and running through to a small station by the Cambridge Science Park. But they made it quite clear that they had no interest - as usual, we seemed to be a thorn in their backside. After all, we were wanting to expand and improve the local rail services. Stupid idea eh? |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Btline
|
|
« Reply #24 on: February 26, 2009, 20:24:14 » |
|
Who would have thought this dreadful plan would lead to a 23% increase in theft!  I suppose another stat that will go up is vandalism - vandalism of a railway line.  |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
ngine2ner
|
|
« Reply #25 on: June 15, 2009, 20:35:21 » |
|
Hi, I live in Cambridge and regard the Guided Busway as a missed opportunity to re-instate the rail services. Instead they have ripped up the track and replaced it with a concrete plank trackway. One ton of concrete is worth around 3,000 car miles and there are 15 of them in each plank. There are hundreds and hundreds of planks, probably several thousand. This is aa scheme that keeps re-stating its "green" credentials!
To answer a few questions -
Why do local authorities like them? - I don't know, there was no public opinion in favour of this - local people think it was someone's pet project.
Why is it important that vehicles can pass each other at speed - this was a throwaway line by those that don't understand trains - the line replaced was a single track line. Trains passed each other in stations, but then anyone who is over 50 doesn't really have to have this explained.
The sad thing is that the railway was never properly evaluated - it was bundled in with a non-optimal road scheme and the guided busway was bundled with the preferred road scheme, the rail and preferred road scheme were never evaluated together. Now the two schemes have been de-coupled - they are no longer interdependent - surprise surprise, Do I smell a rat? Yes.
Having said all that, I hope it is a success - it is the only hope of improving my local bus service.
Regards Norman
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Lee
|
|
« Reply #26 on: June 15, 2009, 21:41:45 » |
|
Welcome to the forum, Norman
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Chris from Nailsea
|
|
« Reply #27 on: June 15, 2009, 21:42:29 » |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
William Huskisson MP▸ was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830. Many more have died in the same way since then. Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.
"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner." Discuss.
|
|
|
|
Chris from Nailsea
|
|
« Reply #28 on: October 15, 2009, 00:09:29 » |
|
While offering my apologies for resurrecting this rather old topic, I thought it worth mentioning this rather interesting development - from the BBC» : Bats could halt bus expressway
Construction of a ^20m high-speed bus service in Hampshire could be halted if a High Court action is successful.
A judicial review has started into plans by Hampshire County Council to build a Fareham to Gosport expressway. The case has been brought by a resident who says the scheme to convert the disused railway is legally flawed.
Vivienne Morge believes bats, which are protected by law, use the route to "commute" to a nearby feeding area and an environmental assessment is needed.
The court was told a small colony of bats living in a house close to the site crosses the railway line to reach a feeding area in a nearby wood.
Damaging a bat colony is an offence under European law and the court must decide whether an assessment is necessary before work can continue.
Ms Morge, who lives alongside the railway line, also said she would suffer considerable disruption if the project went ahead.
The council has defended its actions. The case continues.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
William Huskisson MP▸ was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830. Many more have died in the same way since then. Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.
"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner." Discuss.
|
|
|
|
paul7575
|
|
« Reply #29 on: October 15, 2009, 16:24:41 » |
|
Bats could halt bus expressway
Vivienne Morge believes bats, which are protected by law, use the route to "commute" to a nearby feeding area and an environmental assessment is needed.
The court was told a small colony of bats living in a house close to the site crosses the railway line to reach a feeding area in a nearby wood.
Nimby clutches at any straw she can reach... Edit: The inspector's report into the Reading remodelling seems to consider that without the support of the big wildlife agencies little credence will be paid to a single local complaint, If I'm reading it correctly... http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/twa/ir/nr_reading_land_acquisition.pdfPaul |
|
|
|
« Last Edit: October 15, 2009, 16:42:03 by paul7755 »
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Click on the map to explore geographics
