SUMMARY OF POINTS TO NOTE
Discussion about issues to be discussed at the Core TAR meeting on 1 March 2006 with Dr Stephen Potter included the Department for Transport consultation on closures and minor modifications and the Growing the Railways campaign.
It was also agreed that we should support road charging but press for revenue to be used for public transport. The view was also expressed that if we pushed for road charging to be revenue raising rather than revenue neutral initially, it could be difficult to sell road charging to motorists and politicians.
TransPennine Express and Virgin have been responsive to calls from Windermere Rail Users for service improvements in Cumbria. The Community Rail Partnership has built a relationship with local businesses and secured £18,000 of sponsorship to promote local services.
BMW has been trying with little success to get help to extend the rail link into their Cowley factory so that Mini car bodies could be transported from Swindon to Cowley by rail which would eliminate about 120 lorry movements per day from the A420 road.
Birmingham New Street station is to have a £500million upgrade which would improve passenger circulation, increase retail activity and put natural light into the station but there are no plans to increase rail capacity. Suggestions have been made that would see New Street station replaced by a larger station near the old Curzon St station.
Other plans have emerged to put in a chord at Bordesley to link the Camp Hill line to Moor Street so that some services could make use of the disused platforms there and relieve congestion at New Street.
There is to be a Road Block conference at Carrs Lane Church Centre in Birmingham on 10 June.
Whitehall Update: Jason Torrence and Stephen Joseph have met Chris Grayling. He is supportive of the environment movement and the Growing the Railways Campaign. The Tory party is conducting a transport and roads review. However, he is sceptical about the deliverability of road charging.
It is thought that the next Budget will see a wider range of Vehicle Excise Duty tariffs introduced to combat growth of 4x4 "Gas Guzzlers" - probably in response to the efforts of campaign groups.
A Stop Climate Chaos lobby campaign will take place on 1 March 2006.
Regional launches of the Growing the Railways campaign will take place in the North West on 28 April 2006 at Warrington Town Hall and in the North East on 6 May 2006 in Newcastle Town Hall. Others have yet to be agreed.
TAR input to the Eddington review has been well received and Stephen Joseph has been asked to attend another meeting.
DEFRA is due to release its Climate Programme Review this spring.
Norman Bradbury 25 February 2006
Discussion about issues to be discussed at the Core TAR meeting on 1 March 2006 with Dr Stephen Potter included the Department for Transport consultation on closures and minor modifications and the Growing the Railways campaign.
It was also agreed that we should support road charging but press for revenue to be used for public transport. The view was also expressed that if we pushed for road charging to be revenue raising rather than revenue neutral initially, it could be difficult to sell road charging to motorists and politicians.
TransPennine Express and Virgin have been responsive to calls from Windermere Rail Users for service improvements in Cumbria. The Community Rail Partnership has built a relationship with local businesses and secured £18,000 of sponsorship to promote local services.
BMW has been trying with little success to get help to extend the rail link into their Cowley factory so that Mini car bodies could be transported from Swindon to Cowley by rail which would eliminate about 120 lorry movements per day from the A420 road.
Birmingham New Street station is to have a £500million upgrade which would improve passenger circulation, increase retail activity and put natural light into the station but there are no plans to increase rail capacity. Suggestions have been made that would see New Street station replaced by a larger station near the old Curzon St station.
Other plans have emerged to put in a chord at Bordesley to link the Camp Hill line to Moor Street so that some services could make use of the disused platforms there and relieve congestion at New Street.
There is to be a Road Block conference at Carrs Lane Church Centre in Birmingham on 10 June.
Whitehall Update: Jason Torrence and Stephen Joseph have met Chris Grayling. He is supportive of the environment movement and the Growing the Railways Campaign. The Tory party is conducting a transport and roads review. However, he is sceptical about the deliverability of road charging.
It is thought that the next Budget will see a wider range of Vehicle Excise Duty tariffs introduced to combat growth of 4x4 "Gas Guzzlers" - probably in response to the efforts of campaign groups.
A Stop Climate Chaos lobby campaign will take place on 1 March 2006.
Regional launches of the Growing the Railways campaign will take place in the North West on 28 April 2006 at Warrington Town Hall and in the North East on 6 May 2006 in Newcastle Town Hall. Others have yet to be agreed.
TAR input to the Eddington review has been well received and Stephen Joseph has been asked to attend another meeting.
DEFRA is due to release its Climate Programme Review this spring.
Norman Bradbury 25 February 2006