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On
a number of occasions in recent months individuals at various levels of
the railway industry have mentioned the words, in the context of the Stourbridge
project, ‘The Thin End of the Wedge’. It is indeed understandable
that railwaymen may be concerned that switching part of the network to
tramway rules might have implications for the future numbers and qualifications
required.
The differences between suburban railway and tramway operation are very
significant and were it not for the conspicuous attraction to the public
of tramways, as shown at both Croydon and Manchester, one might indeed
feel that in discontinuing heavy rail operations, something had been lost.
But a struggling marginal line at an extremity of the network, where the
operator has quite reasonably reduced frequency of service, does have
a knock-on effect on the main network. Fewer feeder services means fewer
passengers joining mainline trains. Determined commuters can, of course,
be relied on to drive further to the mainline station but that means dealing
with the uncertainties of town congestion and getting early to the station
car park. And even the new parkways are running out of space.
The conversion of some suburban railway lines to tramways has shown that
many more passengers will use a system once the frequency of services
increases. From the point of view of the railway worker, mainline operations
become busier and more viable as the flow of passengers continues to grow,
especially outside commuting hours.
If people arrive at the parkway after 9 o’clock and find nowhere
to leave their cars (or think they will) they will not travel by train,
which is one reason why local trains at this time of day have such light
passenger loads. The new tramways, by contrast, which have more stops
and therefore more parking and, yes, walking opportunities, are carrying
good loads of passengers throughout the day.
So
tramways can be a neat solution. At the extreme end of the network, why
have all the complexity of railway operation when you can convert to tramway
rules with shorter intervals between services and three times as many
stops? There will be fewer jobs operating heavy rail equipment such as
signals and level crossings but the small trams will each need crews and
there will be many more of them. Moreover, the operation will thrive or
at least require far less subsidy. And from the viewpoint of the main
network, the tramway feeders will be the healthy green leaves providing
nourishment to the tree as a whole.
Remember the Hollywood musical ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’,
which started with the words ‘The Farmer and the Cowhand should
be Friends!’ but ended in a fight. Just as there is synergy between
arable and livestock farming, there is equal cross benefit between the
two modes of rail transport. There are also opportunities for technology
transfer in both directions – a benefit which seems to have been
disregarded over the last hundred years – resulting in equipment
which is better designed and easier to operate. As now in Iraq, it is
time to put down the guns and pick up the trowels, saws and shovels.
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