Rua luta (tuo met go.
Page 55
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It seems as though A. I. Watkinson (eV/ February 25) has let his imagination run away with him as there is, in fact, a poor general case for the conversion of railways into roads.
As far as the Midland line out of St Pancras is concerned, however, I make the following comments: Where the line becomes dual track, conversion would bring about not so much a motorway, more a single carriageway road. A road of motorway proportions would require extensive widening along the route at considerable cost.
Moveover, building a road from a railway would entail rather more than just a simple resurfacing job. Existing ballast would have to be removed, a sub-base laid and drains constructed, all of which would add up to a cost of some £250,000 per kilometre for a 7.3m-wide single carriageway road. For the route from St Pancras to Bedford alone this could cost £40 million for a dual carriageway excluding the cost of interchanges and reconstruction of tunnels, such as the one between Kentish Town and West Hampstead.
Conversion would mean forgoing the opportunity of having fast intercity links to Sheffield and Nottingham should High Speed Trains be introduced on this line for which they are well suited.
To turn a station such as St Pancras into a bus station, together with a "giant car park and warehouses for road transport' defies operational logic. It is not difficult to imagine the utter chaos of departing buses, cars and lorries heading north on a wet Friday evening rush-hour.
If Mr Watkinson is genuinely concerned about railway losses then he would do well to direct his suggestions towards improving BR efficiency. His present train of thought, if he will pardon the pun, is altogether less than helpful as it does little more than echo the polemics of the Railway Conversion League and the Hall and Smith pamphlet -Better Use of Rail Ways-.
Should he wish to further acquaint himself with the problems of railway conversion, may I refer him to our forthcoming publication on the subject, "Railways into Busways Won't Go", available from the Polytechnic from late March, price £3.
J. C. COOPER, Ewaw exg Polytechnic of Central London.