Dear Sir,

I despair at the grand and nonsensical announcements that have been made by both the Labour and latterly Tory council for rapid transit systems for Harlow.

The new Tory council is right to point out the flaws in Labour’s plan for a monorail system. Had the Labour transport portfolio holder done their research, while appearing to be a good idea when compared to normal rail, monorails have many downsides.

They are expensive, have all kinds of operational limitations and running costs that make them an impractical option. Which is why so few have ever been built anywhere in the world and none can be seen here in the UK.

Insanity.

But insanity is infectious. I laughed when I read Cllr Joel Charles, Deputy Leader of Harlow Conservatives, said that: “It beggars’ belief that Labour Councillors want to spend tens of millions of taxpayers’ money on a transport scheme without holding the specific powers to do so.”

This much is true. But their own transport proposals for Harlow also ‘beggar belief’!

Your readers may remember their transport plan that grandly announced that the town will be connected to the London Underground network and that trains from Harlow Town would connect to Crossrail 2 (a new railway line linking south-west and north-east London, as well as towns across Surrey and Hertfordshire).

This plan was announced by the council AFTER it had been very publicly announced that Crossrail 2 had been indefinitely mothballed and the teams working on the proposed line disbanded.

As for linking Harlow to the Underground, Transport for London (TfL) had to point out that they had not been consulted on the viability of this proposal and… well, pigs might fly.

An already planned and approved extension of the Bakerloo line has had to be put on hold because there is no funding being made available.

In both instances, this has been because the Conservative government had demanded Transport for London’s buses and train services to be totally reliant on self-funding from passenger revenue.

From New York to Tokyo, no city in the world has ever been able to achieve this, they all have to be subsidised. Typically, the split is 40% revenue, 60% subsidy.

Nevertheless, through redundancies (no booking offices and less platform staff to keep passengers safe) TfL cut costs and achieved around 70% self-funding. An incredible feat.

Then COVID hit. With people working from home, revenue collapsed overnight. No revenue means subsidy to keep the trains running.

Because London has a Labour mayor that the Tory government is keen to discredit, they have played games only agreeing to the absolute minimum of additional funding to keep trains safe.

There is no money for Crossrail nor extensions to the tube network. Yet our Tory led council seemed completely oblivious to any of the above. Their transport portfolio holder should resign in shame for offering such a nonsensical plan.

It is laughable and beggars’ belief.

If either party is committed to improvements to transport infrastructure, they should call in the experts – we call them consultants.

Present the problem and the need for action (rather than proscribe fanciful ideas like a monorail) and let the people who know what they are talking about proffer sensible advice rather than impossible dreams.

With climate change looming and no combustion engine cars being produced after 2030, Harlow councils of either persuasion have to think very carefully about the future.

With the electric car set to become king, how are charging points going to be placed in the town’s narrow roads with homes occupied by two or three car families – all of whom will want their cars charged outside their homes? Where’s the plan? Where’s the funding?

With thousands of new homes being built to the north of the town, Harlow is going to need a cohesive public transport plan to encourage people out of their cars and to places they want or need to get to.

The smart bunnies already know that something called VERY LIGHT RAIL is probably the answer.

A far cheaper version of traditional tram schemes which would be more likely attract feasibility funding from government and Essex County Council.

I strongly suggest that the council does its homework. Transport fit for the 21st century is vital if we are to revitalise one of Essex’s most deprived towns.

(Hmm… funding from Tory controlled Essex County Council? Er… pigs might fly. This is the council that won’t even pay for the repair of the growing number of potholes all around Harlow. Oh well, you get what you vote for!)

Regards

Name and address supplied