New Ashington and Blyth to Newcastle rail line set to start running in 2024

[r00fie1]

When you go to cities like Sheffield and see their tram system, you cannot help but think that it would be easy replicated. A lot of the old lines are still in places as walk ways and these could be utilised for a tram system. It would cause a few years of disruption, but the benefits would out weigh t

Nottingham is a good example of how Trams impact on local travel habits and the environment: [2019]

Nottingham's tram system most well used in the country as journeys soar

A million extra journeys were reported in the last year

www.nottinghampost.com

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Nottingham's tram system most well used in the country as journeys soar​

Nottingham's tram system is the most well used per head than any other in the country, according to new statistics which show an extra million journeys were made last year.

Figures released by the Department for Transport reveal a total of 18.8 million journeys in the year to March 2019, up from 17.8 million in the previous financial year.

That increase in passengers has also led to a rise in revenue, up from £19.1 million in 2017/18 to £20.6 million this year.

There are plans to link the tram network to HS2 at Toton and an Integrated public transport network to include East Midlands Airport and Derby.
Land and routes have already been identified to expand the existing tram network within the City and outlying urban areas - to the east of the city.

 

[HolgateCorner]

Nottingham is a good example of how Trams impact on local travel habits and the environment: [2019]

Nottingham's tram system most well used in the country as journeys soar

A million extra journeys were reported in the last year

www.nottinghampost.com

​

Nottingham's tram system most well used in the country as journeys soar​

Nottingham's tram system is the most well used per head than any other in the country, according to new statistics which show an extra million journeys were made last year.
View attachment 12790
Figures released by the Department for Transport reveal a total of 18.8 million journeys in the year to March 2019, up from 17.8 million in the previous financial year.

That increase in passengers has also led to a rise in revenue, up from £19.1 million in 2017/18 to £20.6 million this year.
View attachment 12791
There are plans to link the tram network to HS2 at Toton and an Integrated public transport network to include East Midlands Airport and Derby.
Land and routes have already been identified to expand the existing tram network within the City and outlying urban areas - to the east of the city.

View attachment 12792
View attachment 12795

This is what Beeching should have recommended- modernisation and improvement of the public transport infrastructure- if he‘d had anything about him. Anyone can cut costs, that’s the easy bit.

 

[r00fie1]

This is what Beeching should have recommended- modernisation and improvement of the public transport infrastructure- if he‘d had anything about him. Anyone can cut costs, that’s the easy bit.

Someone posted earlier that the "bottom line" is a crude tool to plan and build sustainable infrastructure.If we applied the same criteria to roads which has been used against rail, we would find it almost impossible to point to a profitable road?

 

[Norman_Conquest]

The other thing about tram systems and metros is that they enhance the image of a city, it makes them appear well set up and invested in.

The whole of the north east would benefit from a fast metro system linking up the various towns of Teesside including Hartlepool and Darlington to the Tyne and Wear metro rather than the current slow, unreliable and disjointed network.

I honestly thought that's what would happen with the Metro, bringing them all closer. Getting from one North East town to the next is a ball breaker if you don't use your car and then you have the nightmare of parking.

We went to the Tall Ships at Sunderland, which was an excellent event and used the Middlesbrough to Newcastle rattler. It wasn't too bad going there but coming back was a complete nightmare and reminded us why we don't use the train.

You had the Tall Ships on and all a concert on at the Stadium of Light. Our train was cancelled and they crammed everyone on the next available train. The operators need to get their heads screwed on to get people to use the trains, instead of herding people on like cattle.

Regular and clean is the way forward.

 

[HolgateCorner]

Someone posted earlier that the "bottom line" is a crude tool to plan and build sustainable infrastructure.If we applied the same criteria to roads which has been used against rail, we would find it almost impossible to point to a profitable road?

Lot of tax revenue associated with cars though isn’t there? Road tax, fuel duty, VAT - it’s harder to put that onto rail passengers.

The wider benefits of good local rail are a more complex equation of economic growth and investment over many years and I think it’s too long term for the politicians to get interested in it.

But car ownership has surely out grown what was intended, I don’t think it was anticipated by the politicians that everybody who could drive would have their own car and it is causing a lot of unforeseen and unexpected problems.

 

[HolgateCorner]

I honestly thought that's what would happen with the Metro, bringing them all closer. Getting from one North East town to the next is a ball breaker if you don't use your car and then you have the nightmare of parking.

We went to the Tall Ships at Sunderland, which was an excellent event and used the Middlesbrough to Newcastle rattler. It wasn't too bad going there but coming back was a complete nightmare and reminded us why we don't use the train.

You had the Tall Ships on and all a concert on at the Stadium of Light. Our train was cancelled and they crammed everyone on the next available train. The operators need to get their heads screwed on to get people to use the trains, instead of herding people on like cattle.

Regular and clean is the way forward.

I work in Durham and sometimes get the train from Nunthorpe if there is a works night out so that I’m not driving. You change at Middlesbrough and one morning I was on the platform ready for the train coming as shown on the monitor only for it to be announced at the moment it was due to arrive that it had been cancelled.

One hour wait for the next one, no apology, I nearly got a taxi home to get the car so that I wasn’t ridiculously late for work.

It puts you off doing it again, as you say regular and clean is the way forward.

 

[r00fie1]

Lot of tax revenue associated with cars though isn’t there? Road tax, fuel duty, VAT - it’s harder to put that onto rail passengers.

The wider benefits of good local rail are a more complex equation of economic growth and investment over many years and I think it’s too long term for the politicians to get interested in it.

But car ownership has surely out grown what was intended, I don’t think it was anticipated by the politicians that everybody who could drive would have their own car and it is causing a lot of unforeseen and unexpected problems.

I concur with your sentiments.

"Road Tax" was abolished in 1937 by Winston Churchill.
Vehicles are taxed according to emissions.

The cost of roads is subsidised by the Treasury through direct and indirect taxation.

Our obsession with the car has lead to the unsustainable situation we have today.

Politicians have to have the bollix to completely change the narrative and invest in new rail, reopen some closed lines, build tram networks in all our major cities, reregulate bus services and implement an Integrated Transport Policy based on local areas and co-ordinated by region, not central Government.

 

[HolgateCorner]

I concur with your sentiments.

"Road Tax" was abolished in 1937 by Winston Churchill.
Vehicles are taxed according to emissions.

The cost of roads is subsidised by the Treasury through direct and indirect taxation.

Our obsession with the car has lead to the unsustainable situation we have today.

Politicians have to have the bollix to completely change the narrative and invest in new rail, reopen some closed lines, build tram networks in all our major cities, reregulate bus services and implement an Integrated Transport Policy based on local areas and co-ordinated by region, not central Government.

Spot on