Ambitious rail project launched (From Gazette)
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Ambitious rail project launched
10:56am Monday 2nd July 2012 in News By Ryan McCarthy
UP to £300 million could be spent improving the region's trains and rail infrastructure in the next 20 years.
A blueprint to improve train services in the east has been launched by MPs, business groups, councils and transport groups.
Kevin Bentley, Essex County Council member for economic development, spoke at Chelmsford train station this morning to launch the project - Once in a Generation, A Rail Prospectus for East Anglia - and said all stations in the region will be refrubished in teh coming years, improved track will lead to faster trains and new intercity trains will be introduced.
See tomorrow's paper for the full story.
Comments(20)
greenbroker
says...
11:39am Mon 2 Jul 12
James 1
says...
12:10pm Mon 2 Jul 12
ybe, appear very regularly in newspapers where these so called "experts" prophesy. Seeing is believing.
romantic
says...
12:14pm Mon 2 Jul 12
Otherwise, need to get up to 4-track either side of Chelmsford and time things so the fast trains don´t get slowed there.
It´s good that they are at least discussing this. As we all know, the process can be painfully slow. We could be looking at 15 years before any big improvements. But long-term, more and better public transport has to be the way forward.
Bhudeeka
says...
12:49pm Mon 2 Jul 12
Ageing Commuter
says...
1:17pm Mon 2 Jul 12
EthanEdwards
says...
1:30pm Mon 2 Jul 12
Fix the **** potholes!
wardyt
says...
1:40pm Mon 2 Jul 12
EthanEdwards
says...
2:22pm Mon 2 Jul 12
So repair the roads with the cash instead.
romantic
says...
2:24pm Mon 2 Jul 12
EthanEdwards wrote:Something like 5,000 people travel from Colchester to London every day just in rush-hour. If all of those people drove there, even at 5 people per car, it adds about 10 km of cars to the A12. Let´s not forget all the people getting on at other stations on the line. The train may be 19th century technology, but still takes all that traffic from an already congested road (and they still have to get from the M25 to central London).
Yayyy trains. Always with the trains. The transport problems of the 21st century can always be fixed using 19th century technology. Can't they?
Fix the **** potholes!
The car may have been king in the late 20th century, but dream on if you imagine fuel costs will drop in the future. The train, and public transport, are the way to go. Look around most of Europe, and rail networks get proper investment because they are rightly seen as a central part of keeping a country successful. Part of the problem here is that privatisation has meant money being siphoned off to shareholders instead of being re-invested.
Yes, fix the potholes properly, of course, but having a good train service is central to Colchester´s future.
wormshero
says...
2:34pm Mon 2 Jul 12
About time this happened, although I can't help but think that if they actually go through with it there's going to be a few years of delays and substantial bus replacement. To be honest, from Colchester train times aren't terrible anyway. I'd love it if they could add another couple of later trains for those irritating moments when gigs run late and you're stuck at the other side of the city weighing up whether to miss what you came for or sleep in the station that night. Infact, I'd prefer that to speeding the line up. Like other posts have said, adding 4 track sections when possible would smooth the route out massively.
andy:)
says...
2:43pm Mon 2 Jul 12
wardyt wrote:F- for you.
Ok, so £300 million over 20 years. That's £1.5 million per year (if my maths is correct). How far will that go? Not very, I would imagine!
Its £15 million.
bigidiot
says...
6:25pm Mon 2 Jul 12
These works will probably commence when the Echo reporters learn how to spell check...
Last Poster
says...
6:52pm Mon 2 Jul 12
bigidiot wrote:Just beat me!
"refrubished in teh" ???
These works will probably commence when the Echo reporters learn how to spell check...
Anyone want to lay odds that this is the precursor for increases in ticket prices ?
upandaterm
says...
7:57pm Mon 2 Jul 12
Feisty CBC
says...
8:45pm Mon 2 Jul 12
"Improved services, signalling, roling stock"
Do me a favour! Giving the franchise on a short term contract doesn't justify the silly £4,300 p.a. train ride to Liverpool St. that doesn't even include a tube ticket.
greenbroker
says...
10:38pm Mon 2 Jul 12
The Cater Wood Creeper
says...
12:45pm Tue 3 Jul 12
Last Poster
says...
2:18pm Tue 3 Jul 12
The Cater Wood Creeper wrote:If you like, I'll draw you an Artist's impression! (Mind you, I wont tell you what sort of artist I am, but it starts with a "P" and ends a long streak!)
how much of that 300 million will go in 'consultant' fees and expenses and lashed up computer imagery for the propaganda campaign?
The Cater Wood Creeper
says...
5:15pm Tue 3 Jul 12
Last Poster wrote:
The Cater Wood Creeper wrote: how much of that 300 million will go in 'consultant' fees and expenses and lashed up computer imagery for the propaganda campaign?If you like, I'll draw you an Artist's impression! (Mind you, I wont tell you what sort of artist I am, but it starts with a "P" and ends a long streak!)
Artist's impression
Grayson Perry wearing a fez and saying 'just like that' or dancing around in his frock singing 'on the good ship lollipop'
The Cater Wood Creeper says...
11:00am Mon 2 Jul 12
They could spend 300 million fixing all the potholes in the roads in the area. They could spend 300 million on improving the Sadlers Farm interchange....