Why is it pathetic? The political context is that the Government have apparently decided they want to improve/expand the railway network, including re-opening old lines where appropriate - and they have provided funding to develop business cases in accordance with that. The branding they've stuck on the funding is 'reversing Beeching,' which is not strictly 100% accurate as a description because clearly the scope is not limited to the Beeching cuts. But given the historical context, that's perhaps an understandable mis-branding. I don't see anything pathetic about groups who want to improve the Abbey Line taking advantage of this funding, or the Government selecting for further investigation a line in a built up area that serves a lot of people and which could be significantly enhanced without having to add that much additional infrastructure. It all seems pretty sensible and potentially very good news to me.
I have no issues with any of the schemes, or with any groups who want to take advantage or whose purposes this initiative suits.
What is pathetic, my apologist friend (always one) - is that some politician will one day crow "Our party has reversed Beeching" because they upped a suburban branch shuttle to 2tph, or added an hourly frequency to an existing, lightly used 2 car line to a tiny town in rural Lancs. Neither of which relate to even a Beeching cut, irony being that they are extant - it's just general improvement.
But nothing net new - like Uckfield-Lewes, to give but one example. That would be a Beeching move. And so invoking Beeching for PR whilst doing some pretty light, local-level enhancements (which again, are all admirable or have merit in themselves) - is what is pathetic.
