English Regional Transport Association (ERTA) - now BRTA

[whole diary]

[grahame]

I've been involved with this campaigning stuff for over a dozen years and thought I had come across most other major national campaigning groups.   The English Regional Transport Association is a new one on me, though - perhaps because their flagship projects are, thus far, not in our region.

The English Regional Transport Association (ERTA) is a voluntary membership-based, pro-public transport improvement association with its main projects initially in the Bedfordshire and surrounding regional areas but its remit has since increased since several of its projects have a nationwide positive benefit and impact.

[stuving]

Up to 2015 it was the Bedfordshire Railway and Transport Association (I don't know for how long).

[grahame]

Just posted (public post) on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/12135242142/permalink/10157094366187143/

Some of you may be interested in our Autumn Programme of Zoom Meetings:

ERTA - Autumn 2020 Programme

Northampton Meeting (Zoom) - Friday, 18 September 2pm-4pm

Conference (Zoom) - Saturday, 26 September 2pm-4pm
Speakers include:
Mr Karl Watts CEO^▸ (Chief Executive Officer) Rail Operations Group on ‘Rail Operations Group – Revolutionising UK^▸ (United Kingdom) Train Operations’. How ROG’s innovative and disruptive approach to rail operations is helping to modernise and shape an alternative approach to network utilisation’.
Mr Trevor Garrod East Suffolk Travellers Association, "Rail Campaigning - What it can achieve."?
Mr Jon Harris, Integrated Transport, Accessibility & Development Manager, London Northwestern Railway on ‘Community Station Travel Planning and creative social engagement’
and Mr Stephen Sleight ‘Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership et al’.
There may be a slight variation between now and then and we will update accordingly.

Great Central Meeting (Zoom) – Friday, 2 October 2pm-4pm

Guildford Meeting (Zoom) – Friday, 16 October 2pm-4pm

Northampton Meeting (Zoom) - Friday, 30 October 2pm-4pm

Great Central Meeting (Zoom) - Friday, 13 November 2pm-4pm

AGM^▸ (Annual General Meeting) (Zoom) – Tuesday, 24 November 2pm-4pm

Guildford is on our 'area' ... and in general we can take part much more easily in distant meetings these days, so diary there for anyone interested.    Unclear as to whether membership is required to attend a meeting; note that there is a fee of £12 per annum to become a member. 

[grahame]

Unverified - "

British Regional Transport Association. This morning I received notification that ERTA has evolved to BRTA, assuming its ancient acronym which stood for Bedfordshire Railway Transport Ass'n

The  British Regional Transport Association (BRTA) is a voluntary pro-public  transport group which started originally in Bedfordshire in 1997 and  has grown in reach and range to apply principles on coherent networks  and foster conditions of access and service to suite a wide and diverse  range of customers. We advocate passenger and freight by rail,  unblocking our roads and improving air quality we all have to breathe!

Edit - Verified - https://ertarail.co.uk

We are currently rebranding from English Regional Transport Association to British Regional Transport Association.

We are the British Regional Transport Association

The British Regional Transport Association (BRTA), formerly English Regional Transport Association, is a voluntary membership-based, pro-public transport improvement association. Line re-openings is right up our street in advocacy, campaigning and nurturing congenial agreement and resolution, bringing people together and making common cause.

[ChrisB]

Oh dear.....almost insignificant, now only more so (may have 1 member north of the border)

[grahame]

Oh dear.....almost insignificant, now only more so (may have 1 member north of the border)

Now, now ... I sense a view coloured by history and personalities.   

[ChrisB]

Maybe history but I haven't met any personnel from that organisation to my knowledge, so definitely not the latter

[grahame]

Maybe history but I haven't met any personnel from that organisation to my knowledge, so definitely not the latter

A meeting of the group has popped up for 18th May, for Westbury. I am checking back on details (time and guest charge) and will add it here if the answers are appropriate

Chris - I suspect you have met at least one of their patrons with Railfuture.

Patrons: Sir Edmund Verney, The Rt Hon. the Lord Newby OBE, Mr George Bathurst, Professor Andrew N Williams BA^» (British Airways - about), BM BCh, MSc, PhD, MRCP, FRCPCH, FRHistS, Mr Trevor Garrod, Mr Colin Crawford, Mr Leonard Lean

[grahame]

A meeting of the group has popped up for 18th May, for Westbury. I am checking back on details (time and guest charge) and will add it here if the answers are appropriate

Meeting 14:00 at the Railway Inn, Westbury - at the top of station approach.  All welcome, no meeting fee for guests.  Pub food from 13:00 / attendees encouraged to come along and join in; pay for your own food.   BRTA's first meeting in Wiltshire (no longer a guess - confirmed by their administrator).  Invite mirrored for Coffee Shop members at http://www.passenger.chat/mirror/brta_west_202405.pdf

[WSW Frome]

The agenda shows that it might be an amusing meeting to attend - To view the number of limp kites being flown and pink elephants in view.

[ChrisB]

A certain Pink Floyd album cover comes to mind with this lot.

Graham - indeed, one can see where he got all his useless ideas from!

[grahame]

Graham - indeed, one can see where he got all his useless ideas from!

That is your opinion, which you are free to express here, ChrisB. I [c/sh]ould not comment however ...

The projects mentioned all seem to me to be longer term aspirations. Most of them are very, very long shots with a good justification they could happen in the very very long term.   There have been "flying elephants" that have landed before - you never know.  But I do net see how the benefits will outweigh or even come close to the costs and negatives in a lot of the cases under current rules and on their list

Before (m)any of those listed, improvements we might expect to see (not a full list and vaguely in the Westbury sphere):
Capacity enhancement, Westbury station and Westbury to Chippenham
Capaciry enhancement, Castle Cary to Dorchester
Capaciry enhancement, Yeovil to Exeter
Electrification, Chippenham to Bristol Temple Meads and to Quarries
Electrification, Newbury to Taunton and Bristol Temple Meads to Bromsgrove
Saltford, Wilton Station and Stonehouse (London Road) stations
Re-opening to daily service Taunton to Minehead
Re-opening Barnstaple to Bideford
Re-opening Okehampton to Tavistock and Bere Alston

I help set up meeting in West Wilts too, and typically plan their start time to suite train arrivals.  Here is a table of arrivals for lunch a for the meeting at 2 p.m.

Arrivals (for 13:00 and for 14:00) from:
12:01 and 13:01   Cardiff, Bristol and Bath
11:52 and 13:55   London Paddington
10:53   London Waterloo
12:47   Exeter and Taunton
11:48 and 13:55   Swindon
11:07 and 13:03   Weymouth
12:12 and 13:14   Southmapton and Salisbury

Personally, I would have plumped for a 14:30 meeting start to suite the train from Cardiff (14:01), Portsmouth (14:14), Swindon (13:55), and Paddington (13:55) - you're never going to get all of them good at Westbury, arrivals from the routes via Castle Cary are poor.