Campaign for Tavistock reopening

[whole diary]

[Scooby]

From part of the report on the Railfuture (Taunton) meeting:

**Discussion of Tavistock extension. Funding not from DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) / some doubt as to whether the six miles / 6m to 10m pounds can be justified.**

Do the DfT not seriously get on your tits?? They'll pay endless amounts of money to bulldoze new roads through the countryside but never want to spend on opening new rail routes. The trackbed is in place to Tavistock and the road network between there and Plymouth is appalling, this route should of reopened years ago....

Newquay to St.Austell is another prime example of a route that shouldve opened years ago, about time the DfT were forced to spend on rail and not roads.....

[grahame]

Scooby ... how fitting you should post this at a time I am re-arranging the boards to make this board somewhat more prominent!

[vacman]

Tavistock should be the next big campaign, it's simply got to happen!

[vacman]

If a volunteer group got together, using slave (volunteer) labour then it could be done for a fraction of the cost that's going around! Look at the Helston Railway, started by two 17 year old enthusiasts, now it's a company with over 600 supporters!

[Andy]

I wholeheartedly agree with the views expressed above re both Tavistock & Newquay-St. Austell. In both cases, these projects are no-brainers as the respective branch lines would be transformed not only into key elements of the C21st local public transport network but also improve access to the developing tourist centres in the Tamar Valley & Eden/Newquay. 

[smokey]

Tavistock back on the Railway Network, not just a Good Idea but essential!

Let's get some campaign up and Running, it's odd that Scotland and Wales have Railway reopenings in place yet England is STILL in the grips of the ROAD LOBBY.

Where are the Guys behind SOS (Save Our Sleeper) they sure gave DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) a bloody nose on that.
Anybody got contact details?

[vacman]

Tavistock back on the Railway Network, not just a Good Idea but essential!

Let's get some campaign up and Running, it's odd that Scotland and Wales have Railway reopenings in place yet England is STILL in the grips of the ROAD LOBBY.

Where are the Guys behind SOS (Save Our Sleeper) they sure gave DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) a bloody nose on that.
Anybody got contact details?

Go to www.andrewroden.com and get hold of him, he's the man who spearheaded the campaign to save the sleeper and has told me that his next campaign was to be Tavistock, lets do it guy's and gals, it can be done!!

[Shazz]

Let's get some campaign up and Running, it's odd that Scotland and Wales have Railway reopenings in place yet England is STILL in the grips of the ROAD LOBBY.

This is because they have the backing of the national assembly, who tend to plough almost all of the money into it.

You don't have that in england, so it just doesnt happen

[andrewr]

Go to www.andrewroden.com and get hold of him, he's the man who spearheaded the campaign to save the sleeper and has told me that his next campaign was to be Tavistock, lets do it guy's and gals, it can be done!!
[/quote]

Hi guys, I had hoped to tie a few more loose ends up before I got moving on this (like writing my next book!) but Vacman's right, I would like to help get the Tavistock line reopening moving again. If anyone's interested, contact me via the day job's website (www.railjournal.com) and let's see what we can do...

Andy Roden

[devon_metro]

Why do the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) stick their heads in the sand?

They really p*ss me off how they simply RUIN the railways 

[Graz]

Hi Andy, welcome to the board and best wishes with the re-opening of this line. I don't live close to Tavistock but I and many others here are in support of the proposal.

[Lee]

Page 3 of Plymouth City Council's Plymrail strategy contains a section on Tavistock (link below.)
http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/plymrail.pdf

Parry People Movers are known to want to run a Bere Alston-Gunnislake shuttle service in the event of Bere Alston-Tavistock re-opening.

[andrewr]

Page 3 of Plymouth City Council's Plymrail strategy contains a section on Tavistock (link below.)
http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/plymrail.pdf

Parry People Movers are known to want to run a Bere Alston-Gunnislake shuttle service in the event of Bere Alston-Tavistock re-opening.

Yes, that's the tricky question, isn't it? I've not had the chance to look into it in as much detail as I'd like yet, but I'd say a People Mover between Bere Alston and Gunnislake would make more sense than getting into the realms of splitting trains at Bere Alston, with all the crewing implications that'd involve... the question in my mind is whether People Movers could operate the whole service, with suitable derogations. With their light weight, it could bring the reinstatement costs down, after all.

Just a thought - I don't know the technical specs of people movers well enough to conclude one way or the other.

Andy Roden

[Lee]

the question in my mind is whether People Movers could operate the whole service, with suitable derogations. With their light weight, it could bring the reinstatement costs down, after all.

Just a thought - I don't know the technical specs of people movers well enough to conclude one way or the other.

As I understand it, there are signalling issues with PPM^‡(resolve) vehicles sharing lines with conventional trains, as they would have to running into Plymouth. This would explain why the Stourbridge and Bere Alston-Gunnislake (in the context of Bere Alston-Tavistock re -opening) lines are top of their agenda, largely because they are/would be self - contained. The PPM website can be found in the link below.
http://www.parrypeoplemovers.com/

By the way, I would also like to wish you the best of luck with your campaign.

[Btline]

Why stop at Tav. What about the through route to Oxhampton?

How stupid was it to shut a section of line which turned a viable through route into two weak, isolated stubs!

Ok, it was a duplicate route, but there was the whole North Devon holiday traffic potential (Bude) that was lost.

Or has it been built on?