Friday 9 August 2013

Is this hubris?

 
and from the COHERENCE section:
"A more coherent and user-friendly network: a network with the visible coherence of the London Underground delivered over the North’s wide geography".

Surely we have been here before? What was Network North West? Who remembers that? Why was it binned? Why do I feel these reports repeat the same platitudes over and over again and the change achieved is not a function of their verbosity? Can you pull out the industry produced Future Rail North East which called for Leamside and Stillington re-openings twenty years ago? As for the opening sentence how realistic is it at all? What is the point of local rail in Chester having the same marketing makeover as in Berwick? Berwick shows in the summary's map when no local trains by Northern operators even serve the place. That is the extent of the knowledge of those who write these things.

And I lift from the Northumbria Rail Franchise lobby discussion on Facebook:

Rail North strategy out for consultation - a visionary approach for the future or a recreation of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway? It's a bit sniffy about reopenings like AB&T or Leamside!!!!!
www.railstrategynorth.com
A long-term rail strategy for the north of EnglandWe want rail in the North to grow. The reason for this is simple: growing rail will support a growing economy. More than this, a growing rail network will help the North’s economy meet its full potential.Download the complete Long-Term Rail Strategy ...

  • Robert Forsythe Exactly as you say. I keyed Blyth into the text as a search and got one return mentioning the port!!!!. The North East is just not connected to this process and despite trying to hold a debate, I think this document shows how in the last three years the North East has failed to promote itself and will reap the result come the next franchise.
  • Robert Forsythe page 72 I thought Middlesbrough going electric WAS part of the Northern hub plan, it does not look as if it has any schedule at all. I thought Northallerton Middlesbrough electric was the one concrete infrastructure gain that Northern Hub would deliver us.

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