On Tuesday the County Council’s “Growth, Infrastructure, Planning and the Economy Cabinet Panel” is considering a raft of reports following the consultation on the A414 from last February.
The officers’ report to the Cabinet Panel included the following parts:
7.14 The specific mode of MRT will not be identified until the Design Stage. Emerging technology is likely to present additional opportunities by then.
7.15 Looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the MRT mode types, it is very unlikely that a solution involving steel wheels on rails will be financially feasible and the solution is likely to involve permutations of dedicated route construction, repurposing of existing highway, necessitating rubber tyred rolling stock and interchanges that collectively provide swift inter-urban journeys and effective penetration into the town centres (Similar to the Busway scheme in Cambridgeshire).
7.16 Route feasibility will be investigated with the detailed, local objectives in mind and the likely type of MRT that would work best within Hertfordshire.
7.17 The Implementation Plan will need to include reference to the role of the Abbey Line, particularly given the interest in those keen to see the conversion to MRT and the keen to keep it as heavy rail (with or without a passing loop). Therefore the County Council will need to review and confirm a position as part of the process 8. Strategic Assessments
Over the course of three additional posts we will directly present a comparison of the Busway and Railway solutions along with a summary comparison.