But gradually their voices were drowned by people delighted at the new sense of peace that the parks offered - as well as the stimulus to more exercise, improving wellbeing and helping to reduce levels of obesity, which had been projected to cost the NHS £9.7 billion annually by 2050 (and £50bn a year in the wider costs to society).
In the Lake District, the line to Keswick was reopened with some new stretches of track. A network of frequent bus links was created from station hubs at Penrith, Windermere, Keswick, Grange-over-Sands, Ulverston, Foxfield and Ravenglass, designed to meet the needs of walkers as well as those visiting attractions such as Beatrix Potter’s Hilltop, Dove Cottage, and Rydal Mount.
The North Yorkshire Moors had been transformed by the reopening of the Malton-Pickering line, to allow much easier access to the park from the south rather than having to travel via Middlesbrough and the Esk Valley.
Again, bus hubs were established at Middlesbrough, Whitby, Thirsk and Pickering, with bike hire at some stations on the Esk Valley and North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
TRAIN DESIGN
The early 21st century priority of maximising seating capacity disappeared, as the reasons for travel were irreversibly changed by the pandemic. Airline seating was reduced in favour of more tables, compartments for families, and on some inter-city routes a family carriage with play area.
Seats were given extensive consumer tests before the design was finalised, and design competitions helped add flair to the overall interior design.
For a few scenic routes with outstanding landscapes and for steam-hauled excursions, the RSSB accepted an idea based on the observation cars of KiwiRail Scenic Trains in New Zealand. These vehicles, with open upper sides, became popular with photographers and those who enjoyed a wind-in-the-hair experience.
FREIGHT IS GREAT
The song title from Starlight Express became reality by a tripling of rail freight tonne/km.
Besides an extension of the Mode Shift Revenue Support scheme and higher lorry taxes to level the playing field, land value capture funds were applied to build new terminals and private sidings.
Train lengths rose from 775 metres to 900 metres, improving productivity. Equally important was Getlink’s moderation of charges for nocturnal freight trains, allowing Channel Tunnel tonnage to far exceed the ten million mark envisaged in original plans.
Planning reform again helped. The Location of Industry Act made sure that the folly of building factories such as Toyota’s at Burnaston or Nissan’s at Sunderland without a rail connection would not be repeated.
Equally, planning permission for National and Regional Distribution Centres was granted only for those with sufficient rail facilities to move half the projected volume of goods and a commitment to use them.
REOPENINGS
Although money from the Treasury was hard won throughout the 2020s, funding for new stations and line reopenings came from a combination of refining the process of land value capture and better modelling of ways to achieve local authority plans.
The former resulted in up to 50% of the increase in land value and rental incomes as a result of rail investments being contributed to projects. Typically, this encompassed property within a radius of 1km-2km from stations.
More sophisticated modelling of scheme benefits enabled local authorities to take into account a wider range of outcomes from better accessibility, in turn unlocking purse strings as a result of monetising the economic, social and environmental benefits of the railway.
Community Rail Partnerships played a key role in building ridership and developing the social benefits of reopening, as they had on countless other lines. Station garden competitions were revived.
Some of the lines in the Campaign for Better Transport’s The case for expanding the rail network report have been reopened, almost invariably far exceeding their forecast passenger numbers - as had been the case with the few reopenings in the 2000s and 2010s.
Wisbech, Skipton-Colne (at last!), Coalville, Haverhill, Fleetwood, Caernarfon and Hawick were among the places again enjoying a train service.
All small recognitions that, as the Prime Minister of Barbados put it at COP27 in 2022, “the things that are facing us today are all inter-connected”. ■
