Swindon -> Kemble - urgent need to lobby?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Written into the central government funding agreement for the Westbury Bypass was a 'fallback' that if the money didn't go for that project, it could be switched to redoubling the Swindon -> Kemble section of railway.  Which as we've discussed here seems a very sensible thing to do.  If that project doesn't go ahead, then the money is 'lost' back to central government and probably wouldn't benefit the region.

There's a South West Transport Board meeting next week and I've heard some rumours that although some of the counties are happy for the scheme to go ahead, some of the Shires are saying "it doesn't benefit our county ... why should we approve it?" and may kill the scheme with that approach.

Here in Wiltshire, a re-doubled Swindon to Kemble would safeguard and allow for service reliablity improvements for the north of the county - Kemble is the railhead for much of 'our north', and it would remove one of the two single track bottlenecks on the Gloucester to Westbury via Swindon services that are such a nightmare for schedulers and make for unreliability at times when things aren't running to time.  It really would be a case of "cutting off the nose to spite the face" if Wiltshire voted not to allow the money to be spent here.

Let me present the case in the form of a postcard that's been put together.





1. If you know your Transport Board Member, or the person he/she speaks for, please get in touch with them and point out that the money is either to be spent on a sensible project for the south west as a whole, or passed back to disappear back to the treasury.  And that the project here is one of those rare "ready to go, needed, well justified" projects

2. If you're able to help hand out cards in the next few days at Swindon or on the Stroud Valley line, let me know and I can put you in touch directly with the organisers

--Graham

P.S. I am posting "Across the West" as this effects not only the Stroud Valley line but so many others via a ripple effect - London to South Wales, TransWilts, etc. I also think it would be very unwise of the transport board members in the deep south of our area to reject this opportunity - just think of the future illwill they would generate ... and the "tit for tat" that might be played back on them when it comes to a scheme such as Okehampton / Tavistock in the future!

[Phil Farmer]

and for those of you who don't know who their member(s) of the Transport Board are, this is a list taken from their website -

Stakeholders
Roger Haworth - Voluntary & Community Sector
Nigel Hutchings - Business Sector
Chris Irwin - Public Transport User Group
Jenny Raggett - Environment Sector

Liberal Democrat
Vacancy
John Cordwell - Gloucestershire County Council
Hazel Prior-Sankey - Somerset County Council
Ian West - Wiltshire County Council

Conservative
Julian Johnson (RTB Chair) - Wiltshire Council
Ron Parker - Borough of Poole
Mike Bawden - Swindon Borough Council
Chris Lewis - Torbay Council
Phillip Sanders - West Devon Borough Council

Labour
Mark Bradshaw - Bristol City Council

Members from Other Organisations
Nick Buckland - South West RDA^▸ (Regional Development Agency) (RTB Vice Chair)
John Savage - South West RDA (Board Member)

Observers
Louise Harrison - Government Office South West

[grahame]

Thanks for that, Phil ... and I've added a poll.   After the weekend, I'll summarise the results and we can let these folks know so that they can make a more informed choice based on what out unscientifically selected group of members think.  Nice easy poll to set up - only two options to state as it's either to go to Swindon - Kemble or back to the treasury; "can we spend it on something else" isn't an option!

Edit to add I'm not 100% sure that list is current .. I'll see what I can find out further

[Chris from Nailsea]

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

Support for ^30m dual-track plan

Hundreds of people have signed a council petition to help secure ^30m of government cash to make part of the Kemble to Swindon railway dual-tracked.

Gloucestershire County Council has been lobbying for the work to be done to improve rail links in the area.

The ^30m has become available because the Westbury bypass in Wiltshire is no longer going ahead.

The council now needs the support of the South West Strategic Leaders' Board to guarantee the funding. It has written to the board but will be meeting members on 12 November to find out if they back bid.

If approved, work could start by 2011.

A council spokesman said it was important that transport links in and around Gloucestershire were up to standard. "If we are going to encourage investment and boost business it is essential that we have a more reliable rail service," he added.

The ^30m was originally allocated to the Westbury Bypass project.

Minister for the South West, Jim Knight MP^▸ (Member of Parliament), has indicated the cash could be used for the Gloucestershire rail project instead.

The track from Kemble to Swindon is part of the Stroud Valley line, which links Gloucestershire and surrounding counties with London and the South East.

It branches from the Birmingham to Bristol main line south of Gloucester, and joins the Great Western Railway route from south Wales to London at Swindon.

[grahame]

Any final votes?  I'll be summarising and emailing around in a day or so

[grahame]

I have just made the votes to date visible to everyone - including those who have not yet voted, and guests who may be reading this to see what the opinion is. For the record, with a day to go ... 28 people have voted that the money should be spend on redoubling the Swindon to Kemble railway line, and no-one (0) have voted to return the money to the treasury.

Let's hope that our representatives on the Transport board do truely represent us tomorrow, and retain the funds in the South West to enable a rail project which is well researched and planned, well justified and (unless the board goes against public demand) funded.

[grahame]

Email to some of the people named above to let them know of the poll's outcome ...

Dear Xxxxxx,

The plans to redouble the Swindon to Kemble railway line seem eminently sensible as they will bring a great string of benefits to the area at the 'top right' of the South West, as well as to neighboring areas.  The scheme has been well researched and planned too, through many painstaking phases to ensure that it's proper, good value and brings excellent benefits.

The question has arisen"should the scheme to ahead, or should the South West say to government 'no thank you, we don't want your funding'".

In order to help gauge public opinion so that the decision makers can be better informed ahead of today's vote, the "First Great Western Coffeeshop" - an online forum for First Great Western customers - has run an online poll putting the two alternatives to its members.  Here are the results:



(In text - 30 votes say "used to redouble Swindon / Kemble, 0 (zero) votes say "return to treasury". So our poll software has emphasised "Used to double Swindon / Kemble" as the winning option)

See http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=5605.0 for the vote in context

Conclusion - this group of people who won't be present at the meeting, but are represented indirectly by the people casting their votes for each count are UNANIMOUS in their support of the redoubling of the railway line, rather than returning the funds to the treasury.   I therefore call on all members of the group to vote in favour of accepting the offered funding, and going ahead with the scheme.

Graham Ellis
(Admin - the Coffee Shop)
The First Great Western Coffee Shop is provided by a customer of First Great Western, and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. It does not represent the company, nor  is it sponsored or endorsed by them - it is for discussions about the company, their services, and closely related topics. Visit www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk for the official First Great Western website.

[matt473]

http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/gloucestershireheadlines/Kemble-Swindon-rail-link-funding-secured/article-1510399-detail/article.html

Says it all really 

[JayMac]

http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/gloucestershireheadlines/Kemble-Swindon-rail-link-funding-secured/article-1510399-detail/article.html

Says it all really 

Hear hear! I trust that the coffee shop poll helped swing things

[grahame]

Hear hear! I trust that the coffee shop poll helped swing things

Whilst we did our bit to help swing things, there are a lot of other people who did a great deal more ... not to mention the hundreds and hundreds who have signed the online petion for the redoubling.  Team effort. 

[Andy]

Excellent! Hats off to all involved. These decisions are doubly good news as, when publicised well, they raise the profile of rail-based solutions to transport issues in the minds of stakeholders elsewhere. Three East-West redoubling projects - Swindon to Kemble, the Axminster loop and the Cotswold line - have received the green light in recent years. If these prove successful, they will encourage further work.

 
 

[Tim]

Fantastic news.  Well done everyone who help make it happen.

the timing with the Worcster-Oxford work due to finish and the bypass cancelled was fortunate.  An illustration that good lobbying isn't just knowing what to ask for but when to ask for it to. 

[IndustryInsider]

Good news indeed, and a testament to those who've been pushing hard for this over the last few months (and years!). Now we just need some re-opened lines and stations to complement our enhanced network in the west!

[Chris from Nailsea]

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

Extra costs 'may delay rail plan'

Work to turn the railway line between Swindon and Kemble from single-track to a two-way service could be delayed.

Conservative MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) for the Cotswolds, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, fears Network Rail may discover it needs more money after a detailed feasibility study.

He said he had been told the project would cost ^38m and that ^40m had been allocated.

Network Rail said once the study had been completed it would have a better idea of possible problems and costs.

"That study is ongoing at the moment and until it is completed we won't know if there are any technical issues," a Network Rail spokeswoman said. "When we know what these are then we can discuss the options and and possible extra costs with our stakeholders."

But Mr Clifton-Brown said: "Knowing how these costs go in public sector projects I think there's a chance that it will come out significantly higher," he said.

In November it was agreed funds would be transferred to the project from the cancelled Westbury bypass project.

And Mr Clifton-Brown said he was concerned the feasibility study by Network Rail would unearth additional costs. "They have been cutting back vegetation and making trial boreholes," he said. "If this comes up with a cost substantially more than the ^40m committed by the region and government then obviously the shortfall would have to be found somewhere else," he added.

Campaigners hope the work will remove the bottleneck on the Cheltenham to London route.

The track from Kemble to Swindon is part of the Stroud Valley line, which links Gloucestershire and surrounding counties with London and the South East.

It branches from the Birmingham to Bristol main line south of Gloucester, and joins the Great Western Railway route from south Wales to London at Swindon.

[Bob_Blakey]

This project was discussed briefly in Parliament on Thursday:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmhansrd/chan32.pdf

Are the inhabitants of Minety directly descended from the Luddites or do they really just want their long-closed (1964) station reopened?