Great Western Coffee Shop

ConnectedCities: Metroisation of the Railways - MetroWest
by Love Architecture Ltd

12th August 2020, from 15:30

Free but booking essential via

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/connectedcities-metroisation-of-the-railways-metrowest-tickets-115993189753

I found the session in May ( http://www.passenger.chat/23472 )on the Exeter area very interesting, and have had this one in my diary to come along and listen tomorrow for a while.  There are three excellent speakers as advertised earlier worth coming along for.  The fourth has, sadly, dropped out and (on suggestions to the organiser from several forum members!) I'm doing a short slot on the issues that face the TOCs when someone asks them to run more/better local trains.

Of course, the irony is that a plan for the "Metroisation" of railways in the WECA area has lain on this very forum for over 13 years now. It's called Gateway To The Future. (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=357.0)

When we put it together, we already knew that the powers that be werent capable of delivering a tram system, we were very certain guided bus wouldn't work, and putting in an underground system seemed as pie in the sky back then as Marvin Rees' more recent proposals seem today.

Instead, we used the existing, often underutilsed rail corridors as the basis of a plan that linked with bus to produce an integrated transport system that not only sought to deliver for the Greater Bristol/WECA area, but for the wider region as well.

In my humble opinion, it still stands up remarkably well 13 years later. If I were asked to repeat my role in the excercise, I would probably come up with something very similar.

The fact is though that I like a good plan, you like a good plan, everybody likes a good plan. As far as today's event goes, I am sure that grahame will give his usual excellent presentation, and the other speakers will undoubtedly put up more than passable efforts too.

However, if you look at the event blurb, we were talking about Portishead 13 years ago, and we still havent built anything there. We were talking about Henbury 13 years ago, and we still havent built anything there. We were talking about new stations such as Portway Parkway 13 years ago, and we still havent built anything there. Expansion into Wiltshire and Dorset was a key element of Gateway To The Future, but how far have we realistically come in those 13 years since we mooted it?

I firmly believe that the key to success in the "new normal' after Covid will largely lie in understanding how we failed to bring projects like these to fruition in the "old normal", and we can leave no better legacy for future generations than if we can learn to more quickly make them a reality as a result.

Hmmm ... limited/side brief - look at from a TOC viewpoint as I was a late standing for someone from GWR.  Notable strong (as in multiple) presence from Wilts Council, Several RailFuture National Directors, FoSBR and friends but rail and bus industry notable by their absence.

Based on my brief being off to one side, not sure how relevant I was but it is at http://melksh.am/cc ; had to take it at a gallop - final speaker and others overran. Only a handful came into my breakout room ...

Will look at the rest of your post as a follow up, Lee ... fires burning here on other matters.

We actually know what we need to do ... we just can't get ourselves into gear to actually get it done - or we haven't been able to in sufficient volume.

Officials and unitary council elected cabinet members are appointed not because they're good presenters but (the theory goes) because they're good at doing their job or piloting projects through.  So perhaps it's not relevant for me to say I was underwhelmed by the demeanour and presentation from the Wiltshire Council head poncho at yesterday's  Connected Cities seminar.    I can withstand a presentation starting with technical "how do I do this" issues, disturbed by a phone that rang, and rang again and again when surpassed, and dulled by being "death by powerpoint" styled - "read these slides of council double-talk to them, word for word".  What I do find deeply disturbing are elements I could understand of the content;  it does suggest that the nettle that the Western Gateway is grasping is strategic routes roads between the three metro areas of Cheltenham/Gloucester, WECA and BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole) ... I wonder if that means a Westbury Bypass?

I had been looking forward to the going into the breakout room for the subnational transport board's chair after the presentations, but sadly as I was on the panel I had to run my own room.   From summaries afterwards, though, I don't think I missed much.  It would seem that only one question was raised, relating to the geography of the area.  It was characterised by the chair as a waste of time having this concern raised, as apparently all the SNTBs are working closely together and should not be a concern.  "Silly question".  Hmmm - not sure I'm convinced, and I certainly think it's a legitimate concern.   A good way to address an excellent and awkward question is to not address it - but to rubbish it.