If you travel by train and want to have your say on the future of Hertfordshire’s railways, then we want to hear from you.
An eight-week public consultation to update Hertfordshire County Council’s Rail Strategy will be open between 10 June and 4 August.
The strategy is designed to ensure that the railway can support Hertfordshire and its aspirations into the future. It does this by identifying investment priorities for the next 15 to 20 years and beyond, which the county council will work to secure.
The strategy is used to guide the county council’s input into the rail industry’s strategy development processes, national rail policy and franchise consultations. It will also be used to inform the county council’s emerging Transport Vision work and long-term transport and growth planning.
Hertfordshire has a number of rail corridors and multiple rail operators.
The Rail Strategy deals with each corridor individually, while at the same time developing an overall coordinated strategy that addresses network-wide topics, such as travel from east to west and station access.
Within the strategy, six top priorities have been identified.
Short-term priorities include delivering better access to Watford town centre through the Croxley Rail Link and Watford Interchange Hub; developing improved connections to key destinations such as Sheffield and Nottingham; and increasing the capacity and frequency of trains on the West Coast Main Line.
Medium term priorities include developing a Hertford Loop Metro and a Stevenage Interchange Hub, while long term priorities include supporting east-west rail connectivity in the north of the county, and securing long term capacity and improvements on the West Anglia Main Line.
Derrick Ashley, Cabinet Member for Environment, Planning & Transport, said: “The rail strategy is an important step in planning for the future of Hertfordshire’s rail network. We need to design for population growth and ensure we have the best rail network possible to support economic growth and connectivity.”
The consultation is open between 10 June and 4 August.
A small number of hard copy consultation documents are also available at the county’s libraries.
