Friday, October 31, 2008

Marple to Stockport - it's insane

I missed Stuart Maconie's programme on the railways. And it's not on iPlayer. There's a story from the Stockport Express here.

He did a piece on how Marple has been cut off from Stockport, concluding: "It is insane that there is no rail link between Marple and Stockport and it is easier for shoppers to get the train to Manchester than drive to Stockport just four miles away. Stations like Rose Hill are like a ghost town - no-one uses them. Even if they were to reopen the lines it would be impossible because supermarkets have built all over them. These problems were caused by the short-sightedness of Dr Beeching back in the 1960s. They expected a massive increase in car usage and thought the public wouldn’t use the transport system as much - this was a disastrous decision done for economic gain which 40 years later has caused a lot of grief."

He added: "Local authorities want to introduce things like congestion charges but they are offering no proper alternatives to cars."

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