Smell the coffee, ladies!

by

Just what world do the likes of Amber Rudd MP and Sally Ann Hart live in?

For a council tourism chief to claim that extending the Kent & East Sussex Railway into Robertsbridge will have a negative effect on tourism (News, issue 244) shows how totally out of touch they are with reality.

I visit Hastings quite often and like the place. However, it needs to attract many more visitors and one thing guaranteed to do this is the close proximity of a steam heritage railway.

Article continues below…
Advert

Enjoy more Heritage Railway reading in the four-weekly magazine.
Click here to subscribe & save.
Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST No. 23 Holman F Stephens crosses a Kent & East Sussex Railway level crossing on September 3, 2014. Current plans involve the KESR being extended westwards to join sister line the Rother Valley Railway, with a level crossing over the A21 trunk road being a source of controversy. However, such a link could see visitors and specials from London travelling by rail all the way to Bodiam Castle and Tenterden, giving a major tourism boost to the Kent town, just as the new Chinnor & Princes Risborough main line interchange is almost certain to bring multiple benefits to its area – Editor. ROBIN JONES

These ladies should take some time to talk to tradespeople in places like Bridgnorth on the Severn Valley Railway to get a true picture.

Oh, and I’m sure it will be news to readers, especially those who are actively involved in any preservation movement, that our railways are, quote, “hobby projects for a group of privately funded railway enthusiasts”!!

If only it were that simple!

Article continues below…
Advert

Neil Ewart, email

Read more Letters, Opinion, News and Views in Issue 245 of HR – on sale now!


Advert
Subscribe to Heritage Railway Magazine Enjoy more Heritage Railway reading in the four-weekly magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Article Tags:

About the Author