Billions of pounds earmarked for road-building schemes should be diverted to reopen almost 100 railway stations that were shut as part of the Beeching cuts, ministers are to be told. Lord Adonis, the former head of the government’s National Infrastructure Commission, will today call for a national programme designed to “reverse Beeching” and reinstate hundreds of miles of passenger lines closed during the 1960s and 1970s. In a speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research, Lord Adonis will say that the systemic reopening of mothballed lines is needed to reinvigorate towns and villages across the country and create new links into city centres. The former Labour transport secretary says he has identified 92 stations that could be opened relatively easily, with many on existing freight lines. He cites Burton-on-Trent to Leicester; Bristol to Portishead; and the Leamside line around Newcastle as routes that could be opened as soon as possible.
Times 7th May 2019 read more »
