Features

We welcome any thoughts and opinions our viewers have on this topic, so why not leave a comment below.

Bob Hylands
I’m really enjoying the ‘On the Right Track’ features. No-one though has mentioned that secondary line timetables were altered so that trains connected to the mainline after the mainline train had gone to reduce passenger numbers and hence build up the case to close these secondary lines; or that the railways were for years tied by the law of common carrier which meant that they were obliged to take all loads and charge only the listed price, this gave road hauliers the opportunity to cherrypick the profitable freight and undercut the railways whilst leaving railways with the unprofitable goods. In France, when a line was closed, the track had to be left in place for a good number of years in case it could be opened up again; if we had done this, there would be a lot of good commuter routes available.

Gerry Hall
What Mr Beeching didn't realise was that traffic would grow to the proportions were are now experiencing. OK, if he had got rid of the passenger transport from the branch lines; why not develop these branch lines for freight? Instead of stations on the branch lines why not convert them to Inland Ports, this would mean that smaller vehicles would be required to distribute goods instead of the monsters that need to go from Lands End to John O'Groats. An example is the Midlands got a magnificent Inland Port and new motorways, but think about the West Country where roads are narrow and not built for these heavy goods wagons, which are with us all year round. The infrastructure was there, why throw it away - it did not need extra cash for widening - it would take a substantial amount of traffic off the motorways, which would release money to avoid further motorways being built; that money being spent on converting the stations to ports - the land belonged to the railways. Don't praise this man - he had no foresight.

Paul Davis
I welcome Midlands Today's frequent commentaries about transport issues in the region. I noted Peter's comment that many of the closed lines will probably never reopen. This may be true. I would bote, though that (a) a very recent academic study found nationally that car usage continued to climb rapidly over the past decade, that this represented a virtually complete failure of government policy, and (b)that the spread of the population and patterns of land use have changed dramatically since Beeching. To give one example, south Coventry now has a major university (Warwick) that has very poor transport links in a congested city, but with a disused rail line passing very close to its current boundary. Its existence postdates Beeching, of course. The second point I would make is that the ecological crisis is real and happening at a faster rate than generally acknowledged. Rail must play a central role in the region's future. This requires, in turn, reimagining the way that we currently get around - and paying for it accordingly. 'Business as usual' is a vanishing option. Regards

Mike Brain
It was really nice to see the feature on Milcote,The Greenway and The Steam Trains. I remember the royal train passing through Milcote on its way north when I was a small child. We use to stand on the rail bridge at Stratford and watch the wonderful steam engines arriving at Stratford Station from the direction of Milcote. The Greenway ( Rail Line) is protected in the District Council's Local Plan for re-use as a rail link from Honeybourne to Stratford.It is the missing link connecting the North to the South West & London. At Honeybourne it connects to the Paddington Line with the track still in use from Long Marston, although in need of upgrade. We only heard this week from the developers, that they are proposing a guided bus/tram system from Long Marston to Stratford, which they say is deliverable. They say, that when it reaches Stratford they will become normal buses and will travel on the road.The developers suggest, that walkers, cyclist & horses will still be able to use the Greenway alongside this system, but I have my doubts. Many thanks again for the very interesting feature. I live at Long Marston.

Stuart Granger
Some lines had to close because their use had collapsed, but others which were still viable were closed and ripped up because of sheer stupidity. Beeching had a job to do, but he was too eager.

Ian Crowder
Good stuff - the Gloucestershire Warwickshire railway is well worth a visit - 10 miles of pure nostalgia between Cheltenham and Toddington with wonderful views, too. And it's extending north towards Broadway, too!