ports Brexit and railways serving ports

[black and decker boy]

There are as many HGVs use the A5 (which parallels the M6Toll) as the old M6.

 

the m6 toll wasn’t the first private road, stretches of the A50, M25, the M40 and IIRC, the M6/M74 are built privately and continue to be paid for by shadow tolls (Connect Roads are a big player).

 

Many major bridges /tunnels such as 2nd Severn crossing, 2nd Tyne tunnel, Dartford etc are built & funded in same way 

 

these contracts have taken many firms, DBFO, PFI, PPP etc but effectively are a private consortium who fund the capital costs with long term revenue provided once opened by DfT via whichever agency is applicable 

[phil-b259]

7 minutes ago, black and decker boy said:

There are as many HGVs use the A5 (which parallels the M6Toll) as the old M6.

 

the m6 toll wasn’t the first private road, stretches of the A50, M25, the M40 and IIRC, the M6/M74 are built privately and continue to be paid for by shadow tolls (Connect Roads are a big player).

 

Many major bridges /tunnels such as 2nd Severn crossing, 2nd Tyne tunnel, Dartford etc are built & funded in same way 

 

these contracts have taken many firms, DBFO, PFI, PPP etc but effectively are a private consortium who fund the capital costs with long term revenue provided once opened by DfT via whichever agency is applicable 

 

Indeed - but none of these roads have extra tolls added (outside of bridges / tunnels) and so they are generally not avoided by road users.

 

The M6 Toll is a very different beast precisely because its motorists and not the DfT which pays - and that has led to the undesirable situation of HGVs continuing to use the A5 or old M6 through Birmingham instead to the detriment of those living near both roads.

[caradoc]

16 hours ago, phil-b259 said:

The M6 Toll is a very different beast precisely because its motorists and not the DfT which pays - and that has led to the undesirable situation of HGVs continuing to use the A5 or old M6 through Birmingham instead to the detriment of those living near both roads.

 

Fair points, but on the other hand, on the rare occasions nowadays that I drive between Scotland and England I always use the M6 Toll, partly because the absence of lorries makes it a much pleasanter (or rather, less unpleasant) drive than the M6. The toll for cars is not high enough to dissuade me ! 

 

[Northmoor]

On 18/01/2021 at 20:50, corneliuslundie said:

I am obviously well out of date as I remember seeing photos of container trains on the North Wales line, and that was one reason for rebuilding the Menai railway bridge after the fire.

As far as Fishguard is concerned I can't help feeling that even losing a small amount of what traffic it has, road freight and foot passengers presumably, could kill it. It has never been the success hoped for by the GWR. Irish independence and the First World War saw to that.

It is ironic that many of the the major ports were developed by railway companies, but have lost much of their rail based trade to road haulage.

 

The Fishguard-Rosslare route is busy - not long ago it supported four daily sailings - it's just that very little of that comes by rail.

 

The new/re-opened Goodwick station has created some new business (although it's still a long walk from Fishguard) but much seems to be abstracted from the Harbour station; as the new station is just off the opposite side of the roundabout that the Harbour access road joins, that's hardly surprising.  It has been suggested that Stena line (who own the station) would like to close Fishguard Harbour station as they could avoid maintaining or replacing the level crossing at the end of the platform.  For most of the year, a bus connection from Goodwick to the ferry would suffice, but it would be a deterrent to the railtour market, especially those scheduled to meet the cruise liners that occasionally call in North Pembrokeshire.

Edited January 22, 2021 by Northmoor