This is an important article about an important project. Wisbech deserves to get its railway back - not because of nostalgia, but from the enormous social and economic benefits a rail link would bring.
I would have liked to have seen more emphasis on these potential ‘external’ benefits and perhaps less rumination about the level crossing problem. Surely the key issue is to get the business case sorted and then address the many practical issues?
I would like to know more about this town of 30,000 souls – what they do, where they work, where they may want to travel to. The image I have of Wisbech is of a depressed, low-wage economy struggling in the face of many drawbacks - not least lack of connectivity to jobs and training in prosperous parts of Cambridgeshire. That’s what will ultimately make the case.
As Tom argues, Wisbech could be a test-bed for other re-openings. But it needs to look beyond engineering practicalities. The key quote in the article comes from Bob Menzies, of Cambridgeshire County Council: “There is a phenomenon of places around the county that are on the edge, that are a distance away from the centre of economic activity. I speak to colleagues in Suffolk and Norfolk and they have this as well, with coastal communities. Bringing them in, making them much more part of the country’s economic activity, must be the key to helping them.”
Yes, and it goes way beyond East Anglia, with many struggling, sizeable communities dotted around the coastline or near to it (Fleetwood, Louth, Mablethorpe, Hornsea), which once had a railway and thriving industries. Unsurprisingly, most of these places voted strongly for ‘Brexit’ as a protest against what has happened to their communities.
Part of the anger in such places goes back to the disinvestment of the 1960s, notably from Beeching’s cuts. After the railway went the traditional industries disappeared, young people left and towns decayed. And newer countervailing trends have brought their own tensions, including a major influx of migrant labour - many from eastern Europe doing low-paid jobs in the food industry. They become an easy target for wider frustrations and populist rhetoric. A new railway won’t resolve all these social tensions, but it’s a truism that racial tension is usually associated with stagnant economies and towns and communities in decline. The railway could be the catalyst for a much more cohesive, healthier and socially harmonious Wisbech, at peace with itself.
What might have been useful in the article would have been a comparison with other recent re-openings, as I remain hugely unconvinced by the methodologies applied by consultants in evaluating the case for rail re-openings. Borders Railway
campaigners argued endlessly with consultants and their paymasters that the patronage forecasts were far too pessimistic. The line was built with insufficient capacity based on these gloomy forecasts, and we’re now paying the price. Build in additional capacity to accommodate growth, make sure you get the railway where people want to go (the town centre, or as near as you can get) and look at other important aspects including station facilities.
The stations along the Borders Line, and indeed other re-opened routes such as Ebbw Vale, make me want to weep. They’re a lost opportunity. Why don’t we build in simple buildings where ‘things can happen’? Not old-fashioned booking offices, but community facilities and space for small businesses that really help to make the railway part of the local economic fabric. Wisbech is a perfect opportunity to do this and show that a new railway is much more than a means of getting from A to B, but the catalyst for real sustainable development - an energising spine across the Fens. Make a new Wisbech station a real gateway to the town and the Fens that’s much more than a waiting shelter and CCTV cameras. Make stuff happen there.
Tom presents the campaigners’ case for extending the service beyond March to Ely and ideally Cambridge. That’s absolutely right - an hourly shuttle to March (which with the best will in the world isn’t exactly a thriving metropolis) would doom the project to failure. Get to where people want to go - Cambridge, at least.
