Lib Dems plan huge rail expansion (BBC News)

[RF News]

The Liberal Democrats have set out plans to reopen thousands of miles of railway tracks and stations.

More from BBC News...

[colchesterken]

mmm I will vote for them if they promise steam locos and slam door compartment rolling stock
I dont think so but it would be great

[steam for ever]

I am very quickly going off the tories. They are certainly up my street. That middlewich station will be very useful for me.

[Pesmo]

So have they just taken the ATOC list from last year which had a degree of credability about it and added a few more, or is it a completely new list of projects ?

[j0hn0]

to me it looks like a fanciful suggestion for projects that won't get approval due to "cost-to-benefit ratios"

I can come up with a good policy......

How about......

Electrify all railway lines

That was hard, maybe i should be a politician

[Belmont Road]

There are at least two strategic routes that should be re-opened. The East West Oxford - Bletchley, and the Woodhead route and probably the Waverley route through to Carlisle.

Beeching was completely right about basket cases but totally wrong on strategic planning, the trouble was that railways had been written off as "outdated technology" (a term coined at the time by the all powerful road lobby) with no long term future. Check out Earnest Marple's quote on the opening of the M1 "This is the end of Railways"

[bramleyman]

If they are intending to do this, where exactly do they intend to get the finance to do it from? I did ask one of their Party last year, but still awaiting the answer.

[Bubblewrap]

Originally Posted by Belmont Road

There are at least two strategic routes that should be re-opened. The East West Oxford - Bletchley, and the Woodhead route and probably the Waverley route through to Carlisle.

Beeching was completely right about basket cases but totally wrong on strategic planning, the trouble was that railways had been written off as "outdated technology" (a term coined at the time by the all powerful road lobby) with no long term future. Check out Earnest Marple's quote on the opening of the M1 "This is the end of Railways"

Marples would say that he was a director of a road building company.

[Belmont Road]

Originally Posted by Bubblewrap

Marples would say that he was a director of a road building company.

Very true but unfortunately he was also the Minister for Transport!!

[Eccles71B]

Originally Posted by bramleyman

If they are intending to do this, where exactly do they intend to get the finance to do it from? I did ask one of their Party last year, but still awaiting the answer.

It says in the article.

The scheme would be funded by cutting capital spending on roads by £3bn.