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The road to perdition
Page 72
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It's time to renationalise the railways and abolish toll roads, says Stan
Robinson, and while we're about it let's have a new motorway...
What have I let myself in for now? My trouble is I can't say no — so when I was asked to write a monthly column and to "make it a bit controversial", what else could Edo?
When I left grammar school at the age of 15, the headmaster said: "Robinson,you will never earn your living with your head—you might as well go and start to earn it with your hands",so [started work on a farm as a tractor driver.
Royal connection
I've just attended the RI IA lunch at the Savoy Hotel for the second time in 10 years, and had the pleasure of meeting the Princess Royal. It was also 10 years since she last attended; that was when Bob McKinnon was chairman and Scania took me and my mate Pete Swynnerton — the only time Pete has ever worn a monkey suit! I met some old friends there and made one or two new ones. I got support for what is coming next from a lot of hauliers at the lunch, but this dinnertime drinking is no good for you.When I got back to my local for my daily two pints [had a hard time drinking one.
I feel strongly that all roads and railways should be publicly owned and maintained; after all, they are the arteries of this country. There should be no toll roads, as we pay for this through Road Fund Licence and Fuel Duty, and foreigners should pay a daily tax, as we do in Germany etc.
Widening the M6 will give us all (not just in our backyard, but all long-distance travellers) six years of hell, and at the end of six years it will still he overcrowded and blocked for hours on end if an incident occurs.
This plan is a non-starter and should be scrapped.
A new toll road? Well look at the existing Midlands Expressway: it's just a rich man's corridor and does not pay. If! were to use it with my fleet it would cost me at least f_50,000 per year Once again, this is a non-starter.
Let's build an MI41
What we need. and what I got a lot of support for is a new motorway... the M41. Look at the map, and go from Warrington via Northwich and Whitchurch, then South of Telford and out onto the M5 at J42.This will bring North Wales on to the motorway network and also give an alternative to the M6 for North-South long-distance travellers.
Should one of these routes be blocked traffic could use the other. We'd be doubling the available space and this solution would last for years. It makes sense to me, so let's drive this one forward. •