In June, Herts County Council (HCC) updated their Rail Strategy and this was released for public consultation, starting on 10th June and due to close at midnight on 4th August. Full details can be viewed at: http://www.hertsdirect.org/services/transtreets/railconsultation/.

The updated Strategy, in its draft form, is a very poor deal for the Abbey Line. Although discussed, it concludes by giving little or no priority to enhancements which we believe are so desperately required, principally enhancing the service frequency through installation of a passing loop and second train, running of later trains (post 10pm) and through services, taking advantage of a recently installed connection at Watford Junction.

Worse, rather than champion these relatively simple and well-understood improvements employing proven technology, HCC are considering wasting millions of pounds of taxpayers money on a potentially expensive, unreliable, environmentally damaging Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network, better known to fellow rail campaigners as ‘Guided Bus’.

The prime motivator for Guided Busways is to lower operating costs – something we all agree with in principle. But we know from the Cambridge to St Ives experience that busways can cost much more than expected (three times over budget and 2.5 years late) and that the technology can go badly wrong - the trackway is already in a state of decay.

Why else should we be against it, apart from the massive project and technical risk? Well obviously, our existing trains running on AC overhead electric, zero emissions at the point of use, would inevitably be replaced by diesel buses – direct polluters, with all that entails for the local environment and public health. The opportunity to extend the link onward from St Albans to Hatfield at some time in the future, and even to Hertford, would be lost. Perhaps most devastatingly of all, from the environmental perspective, Guided Bus would mean the Abbey Line’s rails and overhead line would have to be ripped up, and the character of the branch would be irrevocably changed through the pouring of millions of tonnes of concrete to create the two guideways (one in each direction) which would be needed to achieve the required service capacity. Can you imagine building a new A-Road through the heart of sylvan Bricket Wood? That is effectively what would happen.

Those with long memories will recall that sadly we have been here before, in the mid-1990s, when similar proposals were thrown out after a public outcry. Unfortunately, HCC seem to think that we’ll have simply forgotten.

On the other hand Hertfordshire County Council may have forgotten that a bus service can be used free by senior citizens with a bus pass. Whilst the operating costs may be lower, so will revenue, and HCC will have to take on the cost of those free trips, effectively subsidising the service. And bus operators are not keen to provide extra buses just for peak periods to meet the required capacity.

Abfly's alternative vision, meanwhile, is simple:
  • Keep the line as a rail link - part of the National Network
  • Keep electric trains but improve their quality
  • Improve the basic service by running later and more frequently
  • Extend connectivity by introducing through trains to London
Above all: attract more passengers by providing the service they actually want.

Railfuture considers that providing passengers (and potential passengers) with the service that they actually want means slightly more; passengers want direct access to city centres at more frequent intervals, but they are not attracted out of their cars by the prospect of travelling on a bus. In the short term a passing loop can provide more frequent services, but achieving all that passengers want - and attracting more of them so that the service is financially viable - may need a light rail or tram-train solution, which may be at odds with the desire for through trains to London.

So fight again we must. By the time you read this, the consultation period may have closed, but Abfly have been canvassing support for our ‘no2bus’ campaign via a dedicated campaign page on our website. Our main focus has been on encouraging individuals to respond to the consultation, since this is the official way to lodge concerns about the Strategy and a large volume of objections would be difficult for HCC to ignore. Your response to the consultation will be more effective if you use your own words, but for those who are short of time Abfly have taken the hassle out by writing a template letter and giving you a simple form to fill in with your name, address etc. This takes about 30 seconds to complete, then Abfly send the letter for you. The form, the template letter and further details can be found at http://www.abfly.org.uk/no2bus.

If you happen to be reading this before 4th August 2015, we encourage EVERYONE to submit a response – you don’t have to be a user or a local resident, just a supporter of rail.


Hertfordshire Rail Strategy consultation

Abfly website