But there’s a need to look at the project from the other end. What happens at Wisbech? Where is the connectivity with local bus services? Cambridgeshire has a good reputation in promoting transport integration, and I was surprised at the lack of any mention about the potential for the rail link providing the hub for connecting transport services across the north of the county, to surrounding villages and tourist attractions - not least the coast.
Tom alluded to the campaigners’ desire to see a ‘heritage’ element. Much as I love railway heritage, I’m not convinced this is a very good idea if it diverts attraction from the core objective of rebuilding the railway, which is to support the regeneration of Wisbech and the surrounding area. If there is potential for bringing tourist trains into Wisbech (as with Tweedbank on the Borders Railway), that’s great - build in the capacity to allow it to happen. Not because it’s fun to do, but because of the impact of bringing a train full of tourists into Wisbech with money to spend. Let someone else worry about providing the traction and rolling stock, and marketing the service. Don’t let it become the main driver of the project. Without being unkind, the scenic attractions of the line between Wisbech and March won’t win any prizes - but Wisbech itself seems an attractive town with plenty to offer.
I remain unclear from the article about who is going to build this railway. Is it the campaign group, hoping to develop it as a traditional ‘heritage’ style re-opening, or are we talking about a serious addition to the network, led by Network Rail?
Surely it has to be the latter. This is a project that needs to happen soon, rather than wait ten or 15 years while worthy efforts are made to raise funds from jumble sales and tombolas. I’m not mocking voluntary effort (it’s great and has its place in rail development), but this should be a project of strategic importance led by big hitters - Cambridgeshire working with the Department for Transport and Network Rail, with an engaged train operator.
This also raises an interesting question: who would operate the trains? Abellio has just been awarded the contract for the East Anglia franchise, but I’m not aware of Wisbech featuring in the franchise documentation. But with East Midlands Trains (a franchise coming up for renewal) and CrossCountry operating through March, could it work as an open access operation with a path into London on the back of a new, reasonably non-abstractive service from north Cambridgeshire to the capital?
Wisbech seems to be one of the easier re-openings that
Campaign for Better Transport has identified. It has potential as a test-bed for other re-openings - not simply over ways of addressing technical issues, but as a catalyst for economic and social regeneration. These projects need a partnership between the more local players alongside strategic bodies including Network Rail and the DfT. We need to rethink the methodology used to evaluate business cases for re-opening and give more weight to the wider external benefits in regenerating struggling towns and communities that aren’t part of the charmed ‘city region’ network.
