BBC Look East - East West Rail special

[@lewisner]

It sucks for the people whose homes will be demolished but rail lines like this override local considerations. When my local railway (Sunderland - Hylton) was reopened in 2002 the people who had bought houses built in one of the old station goods yards were furious even though the reopening had been planned before their houses were built.

[@nigelkthomas9501]

Nothing but nimbys! It’s disgraceful! If only the railway had never closed we wouldn’t have this problem.

[@thetessellater9163]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but it was closed because very few people used it, preferring to drive instead. Its only the change in societal attitudes that has come about that calls to reopen it were heeded.

[@scottpeacock5492]

@@thetessellater9163 Only a moron would think it Quicker to travel between Cambridge and Oxford via London, When you do not know from your East to your West.

[@lewisner]

@@thetessellater9163 It isn't always as simple as that. My local railway (Sunderland - Penshaw) was resignalled by British Rail in 1962 and closed to passengers in 1964. Most of it was closed altogether in 1967 and the 5 year old signals cut down with oxy torches - they would have shown up as one of the costs though. In 1980 a guard on a Darlington - Bishop Auckland train told me he worked on the last Bishop Auckland - Crook services and he said that they did "traffic surveys" at times of low passenger demand to skew the figures.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

@@lewisner they did traffic surveys at times of average traffic after all they already had full returns detailing all sales both passenger and freight from each station. Those passenger surveys on the Sunderland-Penshaw (summer 1962 and winter 1962/63) route showed a respectable level of traffic at Hylton and Pallion during the week, but passenger traffic had been falling since the 1920s thanks to the local bus companies, which had caused the closure of Leamside station in 1953 and Millfield in 1955.

[@philclennell]

The usual list of middle-class NIMBY objectors, using baseless environmental concerns to make their case. This railway will benefit millions of people.

[@mikehindson-evans159]

With all due respect to the animated objector who "moved in ten days ago" - was your solicitor asleep at the wheel during the due diligence checks and property searches? Investment in rail is a clear response to the much-vaunted "green agenda", as well as providing fully-accessible transport for all citizens. Time to stop arguing and get building eastwards, Mike

[@barnsproductions]

As far as possible, east of Bedford, it should follow the course of the original route (swinging south where the line is blocked by the Mullard Radio Astronomy at Lords Bridge and the M11) to join the Shepreth Branch Junc.- Hitchin Junc. GN route somewhere in the Harston area.

[@robertbate5790]

Build it and they will come!!! What amazes me is that it is taking so blooming long. HS2 has already surpassed the time it took to build the London and Birmingham Railway and have a service running. The navvies only had shovels and barrows!!!! East West Railway will be just such another. May be a good idea in principle but impossible to achieve In a reasonable time scale. Consultation only involves those with a vested interest. Because it is 'on the web site' that is all anyone needs to know. I wonder if the gentleman has even a remote ideaqw

[@scottpeacock5492]

Robert Bates, You can blame the nimbys for that not in my backyard type, this is reason progress is being delayed, The Victorian never had this problem. No social media back then.

[@scottwhitley3392]

Progress is delayed due to the land owners (land owners who shouldn’t have it in the first place) . It takes a massive amount of bureaucracy to overcome them.

[@grenfellroad8394]

They’re building from scratch… electrify it as they build it! Stop cutting corners!!

[@scottpeacock5492]

The new line isn't being electrify and are going to be run either by diesel or hydroflex trains.

[@JT-nr2ss]

Amazing how this rail line features unending opposition despite its benefits. Yet the nearly £2 billion massive Black Cat junction which actually will ruin the countryside and be a waste of money is sailed through and no one cares

[@noeldunford4955]

Well you had a Oxford to Cambridge railway what happened they ripped it up now people are complaining not in my backyard it should never had closed

[@scottpeacock5492]

Its all the backwards benders who voted Tories who still wants to live in the past of the late 20th century with no progress at all.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

When the Varsity Line closed the fastest journey between Oxford and Cambridge was 4 hours and you had a choice of only 4 trains per day that went all the way from Oxford and Cambridge.

[@thetessellater9163]

Presumably via London, as stated in the video.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

@@thetessellater9163 no, they were the trains via Bletchley and Bedford. I have no access to historic timetables for services between Oxgird and Cambridge via London. According to the Disused Stations website by the 1960s travellers found it quicker to travel from Oxford to Cambridge via London, and no doubt more convenient with more services.

[@scottpeacock5492]

@@neiloflongbeck5705 Would you say it Quicker to travel in your car to Oxford via London and Reading, When you going in the wrong direction when Oxford in the West Midlands, Travelling to Oxford via Rail between Cambridge and via London Kings Cross would mean fighting through communters. London Kings Cross Change / Transfer King's Cross St. Pancras station 10m by subway every 10 minutes Hammersmith & CityCircle £2 - £3 Paddington Change / Transfer London Paddington 53m by train hourly £24 - £30 Oxford, It take Three hours by bus and coach from Cambridge to Oxford and when the East West Rail line is reopen, Journey time will be cut down to 2 and half hours direct. As i've said in other comments, this line should have never have closed and should have shut down stations that werent getting passengers and making a profit, Role on 2024 and beyond.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

@@scottpeacock5492 now please compare the same journey to the late 1960s. And don't forget in the 1950s (the only timetable I have access to online) there were only 4 trains per day from Oxford to Cambridge along the Varsity Line and taking 4 hours to complete the journey. I don't have access to timetables for the journey via London, but then as now there was a frequent service between Oxford and London, and London to Cambridge via either King's Cross or Liverpool Street plus the frequent tube setvices. It's no wonder that travellers took the indirect route. The only section of the Varsity Line that was busy, in terms of passenger trains, was the section between Bletchley and Bedford, and that's but that survived the closure of the line. As for the roads vast sections of the A421 are not fit for purpose even outside of the rush-hour, and the Black Cat roundabout is still a notorious bottleneck.

[@scottpeacock5492]

@@neiloflongbeck5705 The 1950's and 1960's are different to now, Central Milton Keynes and the Shopping Centre complex didn't exist, We have more people living in this Country now then it was in the 1950's,, The UK Population was 50 million compare 2021 population which is 67 million and the cost of living is through the roof, Tell me at what price would it cost to travel between Cambridge to Oxford on the train via London on today prices??

[@IS-L]

It was connected once.

[@scottpeacock5492]

Yeah, but the Stupid Government back in the 60's wanted most of the branchlines closed in favour of motorways and there a half abandoned busway outside Cambridge Rail Station which could of been well use for the line to Bedford.

[@kimjong-un464]

*They should have not closed the original Varsity line in 1968. It would have been electrified by the 1970-80 and would have already grown into a very important Rail Line. Now it only costs fortunes ti build new lines in the UK. Billions of pounds and opposition from people make things worse. And not getting this new line electrified is still mad.*

[@johnmarshall9830]

Nimbyism is ever rife in the Home Counties it seems

[@KimTebrok]

Stop building more roads, Lets have a more connected & intelligent response to the global response to the climate emergency. East/west rail is such a response.

[@thetessellater9163]

More houses = more people; the real problem with climate change, but 'taboo'

[@scottpeacock5492]

@@thetessellater9163 How about you Stop breeding for a Start, People needs houses and a good transport links.

[@colingarner6175]

My impression is that a lot of the people on the route are doom mongers and it won’t be half as bad as they make out . Nobody wants cars , nobody wants trains back to horse and cart then 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@scottpeacock5492]

Back to picking up horse shits, That what these nimbys want 😂

[@nigelpearson6664]

There was an Oxford to Cambridge bus. It ran over my foot at a junction when on my motorcycle. Doubtless my fault for getting too close. It hurt a bit and broke nothing! It was coming out of the old Gloucester Green bus station Oxford.

[@thetessellater9163]

Stagecoach still run Ox-Cam route on the X5 buses.

[@scottpeacock5492]

@@thetessellater9163 Not anymore though, The X5 only goes as far as Bedford, The 905 is now in charge of the Cambridge route from Bedford, As the coach can't get through retail park, Goes to show you do not know anything about buses.

[@noneseneguy]

So in other news St Noets gets a new Dual carriageway connecting Cambridge and Bedford and how much that going to cost from the Government, between 800 to 940 million pounds. money could be better spent improving the railways for the East of England.

[@kalicom2937]

That computer generated image of a 12 foot embankment is a bit of a giggle (meaning it's bullshit). The height of a typical train is 13 feet, the embankment is several times higher than the train - more like 12m! Typical BBC, purveyors of bollocks over truth. Edit. "I just can't begin to tell you just how many people have complained...." Why not? Go on, give it a go. Count them up and tell us the final number! Bet is is 30 or 40. Edit to the edit. How do you know where to build the railway if the houses are not built yet? Mm. Here's an idea for you. How do you know where to build the houses if the railway is not built yet? As they have said, putting railways through already built up areas requires demolitions. Building houses around an existing railway does not. The logic is not that tricky to figure out.

[@boblovell5789]

I do not live in the area but since the sixties there has been continual argument about rail closures or reinstatement schemes .Politics always seem to screw thing up.Many of our elected representatives are so remote from reality. Barbara Castle also axed the Bath Bournmouth link. To reinstate this line is completely out of the question. What a loss. But I do see what a dilemma it must be for those living on this East/West route but it needs consultation. I know for a fact that there are many people in the rail industry who are more than qualified to settle the issues. My worry is they may have been 'sidelined', no pun inttended. Read into that what you like.

[@scottpeacock5492]

If this weren't for this MP Barbara Castle who closed this route between Oxford and Cambridge in the 60's, You would have had reliable service to Milton Keynes as this City was growing and as for going via London, it would of been more expensive and over 50 years on there are more people using the railways. not just work, but for leisure.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

This line was slated for closure in 1959 but was saved by the reduction in operating costs that DMUs provided. However, with only the Bedford to Bletchley section the only part with a frequent service and about 4 trains per week day than ran the entire length the line wasn't as good a link between Oxford and Cambridge as the supporters of the line have claimed. That said by the time of closure Milton Keynes was already under construction, so I've never understood why this line wasn't rerouted through there.

[@KimTebrok]

Stop being a moron Scott. Far more to it than Barbara Castle’s decision. The whole philosophy of Tory government was to do away with state expenditure on public transport. It astounds me that someone could be so stupid. Do me a favour, please go away & play with your crayons.

[@christopherspence6459]

what was beechings effect on the line?

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

@@christopherspence6459 Beeching didn't put it in his report as a line he considered suitable for closing.

[@thetessellater9163]

You'd prefer to have kept it open for a further 60 years of loss making? How very silly you are, and to blame Barbara Castle as well - utterly daft. Its "would have" not "would of"

[@grahamholliday9962]

Ridiculous its not going to be electrified and to freight rail standards given Bicester and esp Milton Keynes are both logistic hubs & would benefit from spurs to help get loads off the road network

[@Hard-Boiled-Bollock]

I didn't know the singer from Talking Heads was also a news correspondent

[@aldo4319]

It will remind people what a bleeding idiot Beeching was when him and the Tories butchered the line in the first place

[@TonyHiggs-n2j]

Actually not a Beeching candidate for closure funnily enough the final axe came from the Labour transport minister Barbara Castle despite huge objections.

[@captainbligh3894]

I had to stop watching as I can’t stand anything to do with the BBC anymore !!!

[@robertbate5790]

Sorry slip of my finger. I wonder if the gentleman even has an idea of what the world looks like where his plans are going. His advisors will tell him what he wants to hear, not what the affected people want him to hear. The last time I was asked my opinion the question was 'We ARE going to build house here, do you prefer this space or that space?'. Some consultation. A lot of rescission making has been made during lockdown while people's attention has been made elsewhere!! Done deals.

[@thetessellater9163]

One of the nimbys are we?

[@robertbate5790]

@@thetessellater9163 No definitely not a nimby! I would just appreciate some respect from those who supposedly represent us. To tell us that it is already happening, what's your opinion is not a consultation, it's a confrontation!!!!

[@scottpeacock5492]

@@thetessellater9163 The only nimby on here is you, worrying about your horses, They get use to the noise in time, Trains don't bother the horse where i live. Too busy eating grass.

[@ds1868]

The Transport Secretary should take another look at this. Doesn't add up to me.

[@ianhudson2193]

Good job its nothing to do with you then...🤷‍♂️

[@thetessellater9163]

You have seen and worked through all the costings? I think you are talking out of your ****.

[@scottpeacock5492]

@@thetessellater9163 Have you??