With regard to the "veiled racism" comment I made, I should've clarified that I wasn't referring to any comments on this thread or elsewhere on the forum. To avoid any further confusion, I'll state categorically that I meant in general when people IRL slag off Bradford (or indeed Dewsbury).
Fair enough
Don’t you approve of an extension to the wired Northern network?
I certainly approve - wiring the Calder Valley line (plus the line through Brighouse) would be a big improvement to rail oop north - no need for new lines.
The poster comparing Bradford to a large town the size of Burnley.
Bradford is the fifth biggest UK city going on 2011 census data with a population of
It's sad that there's so much anti Bradford bias on here.
I would have thought that everyone would be behind the new central station and a link between the Calder and Aire valleys.
I don't know how many times it needs to be pointed out but the "fifth biggest city" stuff only works if you include Keighley/ Ilkley etc. It stretches from Tong to Haworth, from Menston to Oxenhope. Three hundred and seventy square kilometres.
The normal definition of Burnley (e.g.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borough_of_Burnley) doesn't include Nelson/ Colne to the north east or Accrington/ Hyndburn to the west. It's only a hundred and ten square kilometres. To be the same geographical size as Bradford you'd probably include most of the M65 corridor, from Colne to Blackburn.
That's not "anti Bradford bias", that's just trying to explain that the city is nothing like as big/important as its residents think.
And, given that rail budgets are relatively limited/ finite, I'd rather that we focussed more on busy flows before worrying about the "nice to have" stuff like the Hebden Bridge - Ilkley Tea Room Express.
I don't think that a cross-Bradford link between the Aire and Calder Valleys is worth doing. I can't see enough people wanting to travel from Bingley to Halifax to make it worthwhile. You think differently. Differences of opinion are not unknown on internet discussion boards and are certainly not 'anti Bradford bias'. I want to see Bradford do well - I just don't think the project you propose is part of the solution.
Agreed - there are much better ways of improving the railway in Bradford - e.g. wiring the Calder Valley route - boring compared to mega-projects though!
And for those questioning why Bradford might be on any NPR, it is West Yorkshire's second biggest city & Metropolitan area by some measure
Bigger than Halifax, bigger than Wakefield, bigger than Huddersfield, fair enough. But is it big enough to divert NPR for?
A direct line from Manchester to Leeds, just short of forty miles, passes relatively close to the centres of Oldham/ Huddersfield/ Brighouse/ Batley.
Manchester - Shipley - Leeds is knocking on fifty miles. Shorter if you tunnel it, but then you're dealing with Bradford's topography, which isn't ideal for trains (much like that of Sheffield).
Really, there's a question about what NPR/ HS3 is intended for. Is it about fast services between the two main conurbations in the north (Manchester and Leeds) or is it about linking in as many places as possible? Do we want one simple route or a dog-leg line that tries to tick as many boxes as possible? If Bradford, why not also Oldham and Brighouse? Where do you draw the line...
Maybe, since the platforms at Foster Square/ Interchange are about half a mile apart, we could just do a Crossrail and have an entrance at both to the underground platforms for NPR - the double-ended stations are all the rage in London!