General Discussion

There is an editorial in this week's Dawlish Post which I encourage everyone to read if they possibly can (see page 8). The editorial suggests that the south-west is the Cinderella of transport with regard to transport funding and gives figures supporting that argument (and bear in mind that the Swansea Lagoon project that I posted about a few days ago is expected to come in at a cost of around £850m).

So........just in case we are met with "How much? we can't possibly spend that at Dawlish protecting the rail network!" here are some figures that you might find of interest.

HS2 -  cost £16billion (but could end up being more?)

London Crossrail - cost £15billion

From today's Observer;

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/feb/16/hs2-divert-cash-southwest-railway?guni=Keyword:news-grid%20main-1%20Main%20trailblock:Editable%20trailblock%20-%20news:Position1:sublinks

Just been watching the local BBC news. Seems the cost to the local economy will be even greater now than at first thought given that the bad weather has lengthened the time before the Dawlish rail line will be operating again.

Thought I'd post this about the estimated cost in terms of loss to the local economy.

This is from the BBC's website dated 6-2-14: (my emphasis in bold)

"Devon and Cornwall Business Council's Tim Jones said the closure of the line was "hugely damaging" to the region's economy.

"We've done some initial assessments of what it will cost and we estimate it will be between £1m and £2m a day.

"The amount is based on estimates from last year when Cowley Bridge Junction was closed, disruption to business travellers, the amount lost from taxi companies and businesses around train stations - if you add it all up you come to the estimate we have.

"We've got to live with the problem of the Dawlish sea wall and come up with a financially viable solution."

But David Parlby, from the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, said: "Financially we think it will cost £20m for each day the line is closed... to have it disconnected is a major blow."

Chris Pomfrett, chairman of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership, said: "I think Dawlish has been an accident waiting to happen.

"This, on top of the problems last year north of Exeter [Cowley Bridge Junction], asks the question: When are we going to take a proper look at our transport infrastructure?

"If we want to get businesses to grow here and improve the economy, you have to have an absolutely resilient transport infrastructure."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-26062712