Or maybe visions of some Mediterranean holiday Paradise? Or here at Kelowna ...
But BRIERLEY HILL (Birmingham)? Surely not?
But the "Waterfornt" is Brierley Hill gone trendy; and, in case you wondered, its on the canal! Now nice Mr Parry ...
... who runs his tiddly yet efficient people mover between Stourbridge Junction and Town stations wants to run a bigger people mover between the Junction and Brierley Hill Waterfront along the presently under-used freight line. The Waterfront is just off the map, top right.
He has got a gang of industrial chums together ...
... to build a bigger unit.
And he has persuaded nice Mr Cameron to give him a bag of shiny pennies towards the development work, although no-one will say how much.
He is planning stations near the Corbett Outpatients Hospital on Vicarage Road ...
... well perhaps not that near (railway far right). Then there will be a stop at the site of the former Brierley Hill station, long since closed.
It was at the junction of Fenton Road and Bradleymore Road and reasonably near the High Street.
His train(s) would then terminate at a new station near the Dudley Road rail bridge ...
... serving the trendy Waterfront, with its golden beaches and rolling breakers (NOT!), which is over to the right a little beyond the warehouses. Mr Parry even shows on is web site how he will contruct his stations from Meccano ...
... and have even bigger People Movers to carry the hordes of passengers off to cosy Bistros and cafes selling halloumi and tofu wraps at astounding prices. In Brierley Hill!
Will it happen? John Parry has harboured his vision of "green" flywheel powered urban transport for well over 20 years. The current operation on the Stourbridge branch is his first real "commercial" success. The move to a longer, bigger line is clearly the next step; but in the current economic climate, fbb wonders where the start-up money might come from. There can't be much left in John's piggy bank, surely?
And, of course, it's not the first high tech train project to wiggle to the Waterfront; or the first dismal failure!
And, of course, it's not the first high tech train project to wiggle to the Waterfront; or the first dismal failure!
Next Bus Blog : Monday 3rd September
Compared to the Leeds trolleybus, which is going to cost 240m pounds if I recall correctly, the 5m pounds that Mr Parry requires for his project seems quite reasonable. I'm sure they're not the same, but the disparity between the figures still seems excessive.
ReplyDeleteI think Parry's figure is for "development" (whatever that means). I guess implementation will coast more. BUT his plans would nevertheless be much cheaper than the sort of eye-watering figures quoted for modern projects. Mind you, in Leeds they've got to build the track whereas Mr Parry is going to use existng infrastructure.
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