High Speed Rail Lobby Day 2011
On Monday 28 November I chaired the High Speed Rail Lobby Day which took place in the Grand Committee Room in Parliament.
Many MPs whose constituencies are affected and many that are not attended the meeting to listen to the arguments. I was pleased to see a number of Members of the House of Lords attend as well as members of Action Groups who continue to work tirelessly to change the Government's mind on this project and make sure that people around the country know and understand the facts.
Jerry Marshall spoke about the alternatives to HS2 and the Transport Select Committee's report into HS2 which, whilst supporting the concept of high speed rail, raises serious concerns about this project in its current form. Steve Rodrick then spoke about the environmental impact of HS2. There was then a chance for questions and I was pleased to see so many activists, MPs and Lords take part.
The Government is expected to make an announcement regarding the project before Christmas. The rumour is that an announcement could be made on Tuesday 20 December which is the date that Parliament breaks up for Christmas recess. I continue to urge as many of you as possible to write to your MP and to the Secretary of State for Transport to raise your concerns and insist that she looks again at this project. Even more importantly, I suggest you try to get as many of your family, friends, work colleagues and acquaintances from all corners of the country to write to their own MPs and the Secretary of State raising their concerns over the project.
In my view this project makes no economic sense, will not narrow the North South divide, will provide little in the way of regeneration and job creation, is not environmentally friendly and will not deliver the necessary capacity relief on the West Coast Main Line until at least 2026. We must spread this message as far and wide as we can and make sure that as many people as possible also know these facts, share our concerns and urge the Government to look again at this white elephant.
Andrea Leadsom MP
I've been keeping a blog since 2006, so you can see the position I've taken on many different national and local issues. Whilst it's sometimes hard to find the time to write on every issue, I hope that you can get a good idea of my beliefs and values in the areas that matter to you. Please do leave your comments - I'm always interested to hear your views.
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The solution to deal with the near weekly incident that closes or severely restricts services on the WCML for part or all of the day is almost in place now, and was used during the later stages of the improvement programme. The Blockade buster trains ran from Euston via Banbury, and the Chiltern Line enhancements mean that these could deliver a route knowledge retention service built in to the timetable now - as already exists with Chiltern running one service a day from Paddington to Birmingham. The problem with our rail network is the removal and lack of interoperability - both of the tracks and trains - examples elsewhere in Europe of systems used more intensively - yet also more reliably have the ability to switch between alternative routes and move any broken train immediately with any train available nearby. (we had this with Southern Region's old electric trains that could have a diesel loco plugged in at either end and carry on in service when the power went away. It would not be too difficult to use the 4-track corridor (now with 2-3 tracks) that was built in the 20th Century with Basle gauge and high speeds designed in, that is the GW/GC joint line (Chiltern) and Chiltern has thoughtfully left the earthworks for Ashenden Junction in place when they relaid 2 tracks to Bicester.. Both PAD-BMO and EUS-BHM routes are 113 miles, and Chiltern has already done MYB-BMO in 87 minutes with a service train, calling at several stops, and thier budget price 100mph track & signalling enhancement (there is s step-cost to take the speeds up over 100mph), and the trains used at present have 125mph carriages but a 100mph constraint on the locomotives. A bit of work at Willesden/Old Oak Common would deliver a pair of 4-track main lines that could run from Paddington or Euston (allowing one to close for major works overnight/at weekends and also be available for those incidents) Restoring a railway Ashenden Junction to Rugby will put Buckingham, Brackley and Daventry back on a rail map of the UK and huge populations connected to a 40-50 minute rail service to London, and allow intensive use of the Chiltern route without adding demand for train paths from Banbury and Leamington where more services heading for Birmingham join it. A WCML connection at Rugby ten permits the use of a flip-flop timetable like that used for the 3 trains/hour MAN-EUS Each takes a different route, via Crewe, via Stafford and direct via Colwich Junction, all taking roughly the same time, and leaving space to fit in the stopping services and other trains. A connected and interoperable pair of 4-track main lines between Birmingham and London (and the connection to the Great Western route) offers both the flexibility of the manchester arrangement and the option for planned closure and gauge enhancement of the WCML (and Chiltern) to carry bi-level commuter trains - more passenger per train without the issues of signalling and platform work associated with train lengthening (and a cost trade off to consider), HS1 and the Tunnel fall down around once a year with a total blockage and no route to switch over to, an isolated HS2 railway carries on with this vulnerability.
- Dave H