Wednesday 21 March 2012

Railway improvements in the budget

More tax on tobacco, but no increase on booze.  As for the rest, about neutral for me.  However, there was some good news on the railway improvement front.

See:  http://railwayeye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/chancellors-budget-statement-rail.html

http://www.wymetro.com/news/releases/120321DfTBudget

For me, the surprise is the improvement to the Hope Valley line between Sheffield and Manchester. Long overdue, the line was originally planned for closure following the Beeching Report.  Instead, the Woodhead route was closed, even though it had been electrified in the 1950s and a new double-bore tunnel  constructed to replace two single-bore tunnels at Woodhead.  The Woodhead route was also the shorter and quicker of the two routes. It may be that the fact that Mr Clegg represents a Sheffield constituency had something to do with the decision to upgrade the Hope Valley route.

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