Not An Amtrak subject for just as a matter of comparison between our countries and info for those of you who follow these things.
The largest town in Britain without passenger rail service yesterday lost that dubious distinction, as Ebbw Vale saw its first train since 1962. There will be an hourly service each way to Cardiff from approx 6.30am to 10.30 pm. The total cost of the project, including track upgrades and new stations was $60 million.
There was always local resentment that both the passenger branch lines in the district had been closed not because they weren't popular and well used but there was such a bottleneck of freight traffic in the area they couldn't schedule a regular service and it was easier to axe the passenger trains! (Sound familiar?)
The population of Ebbw Vale? Just about 45,000...
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
Mr. Williams, isn't Cardiff the largest city in the Wales region of the UK?
Us "colonists' have a same story. During the same era 1962 or thereabouts, all service to communities SE of Boston was discontinued. Now, under auspices of public funding, it's largely restored.
Oh, and the name of the railroad over which it operated? The Old Colony!!!!
Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :
Cardiff is the capital of Wales. I was there years ago and remember the lovely area around the capitol building, a palace, peacocks . . . . And isn't it also where Tiger Bay is? A favorite film of my Ute.
But: how do you pronounce Ebbw?
Posted by Geoff M (Member # 153) on :
quote:Originally posted by sojourner: But: how do you pronounce Ebbw?
I've heard it called "ebber vale" (rhyming with "ever") but supposedly it's "ebboo vale".
Don't let Welsh people hear you call it a "region" of the UK! "an administrative entity which is in British English terms a country, but not a state; some people have been known to describe its governance as giving it the status of an internal colony of the United Kingdom. There is also a people, who to the extent that they identify themselves as Welsh, are what some people would call a nation. There never has been a single state, in the modern sense of the nation-state, exactly coinciding either with the geographical or with the cultural Wales.". Clear as the Severn Estuary mud that separates Wales from England.
We are seeing a bit of a revival of old lines. There's one in Scotland, making a fourth (?) direct link between Glasgow and Edinburgh reopening soon; the East London Line gets extended back to Dalston Jn next year, plus one or two other extensions onto former closures. It is fortunate that many rights-of-way have been protected or otherwise left not built upon.
Geoff M.
Posted by mr williams (Member # 1928) on :
"Ebber" is the usual pronounciation but "Ebboo" is more gramatically correct.
The UK has moved towards more of a Federal system in recent years. Scotland and Wales are now both semi-autonomous and both have regional assemblies with law making powers on matters like Health, Education and Transport. All issues such as Defence, Military etc are all decided in London.
Yes, Cardiff is the capital of Wales and Tiger Bay was not only a film but home to the singer Shirley Bassey. The other famous Welsh export, Tom Jones, was born in Pontypridd, 15 miles to the north.
One other fact about Wales? Last year they scrapped ALL charges for prescription drugs. Yep, your prescriptions are totally free over there!
Posted by CG96 (Member # 1408) on :
Mr. Williams: You forgot Catherine Zeta-Jones. She's Welsh (I think).
Posted by Geoff M (Member # 153) on :
quote:Originally posted by mr williams: One other fact about Wales? Last year they scrapped ALL charges for prescription drugs. Yep, your prescriptions are totally free over there!
Ahem... INCLUDED in your taxes, NI, and other "contributions", never free! In case the rest of you were wondering, it currently costs £6.85 or just over US$13 - this is a flat fee for any drug prescribed by your doctor (exemptions for children, elderly, pregnant mothers, etc).
Yes, Zeta-Jones was Welsh, though appears to distance herself from it now.
Erm... can't think of a way of getting this back on rail-related matters, sorry!
Geoff M.
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
Let's invite Ms. Zeta-Jones to ride the California Zephyr from Chicago to Emeryville. I volunteer to be her escort.
Posted by mr williams (Member # 1928) on :
OK, so not "free" as you pay tax etc but free at the point of delivery.
To get this back to a rail-related topic is easy - since the re-opening of Mansfield (52,000) and Ebbw Vale (45,000) the biggest town in the UK without passenger service is now, I believe, Leigh (near Manchester) with a population in the high 30,000s.
In the US I know that Phoenix and Las Vegas are 1 million plus and what is the size of Nashville, Tulsa or Columbus? Didn't Akron lose its service a few years ago and that must be 250,000 or so?