| Archived Save the Train forum articles - 2005 to 2010. See below
Road System Growing 15 Times Faster Than Railway Line Network - 6271/10705 Written by Lee on Tuesday, 11th March 2008 Britain Re: Road System Growing 15 Times Faster Than Railway Line Network - 6271/10734 Written by Lee on Wednesday, 12th March 2008 Response from Campaign For Better Transport : [quote="Cat Hobbs (Campaign For Better Transport)"]Britain's road network has grown 15 times faster than the rail network under Labour. Government figures show that since 1997, 405 miles of motorway and trunk roads have been built, compared to just 27 miles of railway tracks. This is despite the fact that in the last 10 years, the number of rail journeys has increased by 45%. Building roads encourages people to drive; building new railway lines encourages people to travel by train. The Government needs to reopen railway lines and stations to give people low-carbon transport options. It needs to look at the 'missing links' in our rail network, identified by Railfuture. The Government also needs to look at the increasing number of people travelling by train, and start planning for the long term. This means safeguarding key lines for the future. In the adjournment debate on Woodhead yesterday, Angela Smith MP reminded Transport Secretary Rosie Winterton that rail links in the North are not good enough, and talked about the need for a trans-Pennine 'crossrail for the North' on the Woodhead route. Rosie Winterton said that 'should a significant challenge be identified' which meant the route would be needed, the department would work with National Grid to ensure it could be reopened. A significant challenge has already been identified. It's called climate change and it means the Government needs to encourage people to use trains instead of cars and planes wherever possible. Our rail network should be growing 15 times faster than our road network - not the other way around.[/quote] link to index of articles |
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Save the Train was the campaign to bring an approriate train service back to and through Melksham. Most big contributors are still around writing at the Coffee shop forum where new members are very welcome. The train has been saved - sort of - we have stepped back up from an unusable service to a poorish one but it's doing very well. We did that through setting up the TransWilts Community Rail Partnership. That fulfilled its early objectives; it has been taken over by local and regional government types who are now doing medium and long term work. The team from this forun can also be found at the Melksham Rail User Group (which was the Melksham Rail Development Group at the time these articles were written and we had no users. We mustn't loose sight, though, that the train service remains poor and needs our community support in marketing and campaigning to keep it going in a positive direction ... and all the more so when we're expecting to find a different normallity once we get out of the Coronavirus Pandemic and head for zero carbon via the climate crisis. Yes, it's saved ... it's now a key community facility ... the need for enhancement and the strong and near-universal local support remain, and the rail industry and goverment remain slow to move and provide the enhancements even to level us up with other towns. Please support the Melksham Rail User Group - now very much in partnership rather than protest with the rail industry and local government, including GWR, TransWilts and unitary and town councils. And please use the trains and buses, and cycle and walk when you can. -- Graham Ellis, (webmaster), February 2021 | |||
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