The Monsal Trail

roubaixtuesday
Posts: 5814
Joined: 18 Aug 2015, 7:05pm

Re: The Monsal Trail

Post by roubaixtuesday »

Pete Owens wrote: 1 Oct 2021, 3:28pm The A6.
Yes, it is busy, but when I'm going to work in the morning I just want to get there as soon as possible. I am just trying to get from one place to another with as little fuss as possible, not to go out for a nice ride. Including a diversion onto the Monsal Trail would probably add an hour to the journey - it may not add many miles, but it is much much slower.

For the same reason, I use the A56 to go to work - though I wouldn't dream of going that way for a Sunday morning spin. If it is a sunny evening and I'm not in a rush to get anywhere I might come home on an extended ride along country lanes.
Fair enough.

I wouldn't touch the A6 with a bargepole personally, the bit from the end of the trail to Buxton is pretty unpleasant, and I'd bet good money the trail is deserted at commuting time, and no more than a few minutes difference. I add two miles on my own commute (from 8 to 10) to do back roads rather than a busy main road. But each to their own.
rareposter
Posts: 1988
Joined: 27 Aug 2014, 2:40pm

Re: The Monsal Trail

Post by rareposter »

PH wrote: 1 Oct 2021, 3:41pm You are right that it isn't primarily transport infrastructure, I don't think anyone claimed it was.
And this is the nub of the problem.
The "reopening the railways" groups are saying that what is effectively a leisure ride (and therefore could reasonably be along any trail anywhere cos people are simply out for a day, not going from A to B) is being removed to make way for genuine transport infrastructure, rail freight (which is desperately needed in order to remove HGV traffic and help the decarbonisation agenda).

The "keep the Monsal Trail" groups are going on about fantastic leisure rides, the countryside and so on which is less of a persuasive argument. As you say it's not really "transport infrastructure" because certainly at the Miller's Dale end it doesn't link to anything. If it went all the way to Buxton it'd be a lot more useful.

That said though, it would be so expensive to reinstate it and the benefits are so marginal that it won't ever be done. It'll be talked about lots - it's easy for councils to talk about grand plans and ambitions and then kick the can down the road a bit so they don't really have to do anything. Peak District National Park planning and building regulations would have to be negotiated too, not so much the finished railway but the construction needed to support the railway itself such as roads, temporary trackways, tree felling and so on required to get heavy machinery to the sites.
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