RECENT TRAFFIC GRIDLOCK arising from work building the new Northampton station has led to speculation about when, and if, St James Mill Road will be opened up for through traffic. This will join the rear of Nene Valley and St James’ Retail Parks as well as B&Q on the west side of Towcester Road to […]

The most important case for HS2 in Northamptonshire is the lack of capacity on the West Coast Main Line (WCML). This serves Northampton via the loop line and Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and many other towns on the main line. From about 2020 there will be little or no spare capacity on the line, which is […]

STOP PRESS: Please note that Westbridge on St James’ Road will be CLOSED to all traffic from 7pm tp 6am for 10 days from Wednesday, 13 November. This is for work to prepare for new access and roads layout for the the new Northampton Castle Station on which work has just started for completion next […]

WRITING in The Guardian, Jim Steer, director of Greengauge 21, a non-profit making organisation researching high-speed rail says: “HS2 is the most efficient way to tackle a fully foreseeable problem – transport capacity is running out”. “It is better to build from scratch rather than again attempt a disruptive line-of-route-upgrade”. Jill Hope agrees and says: […]

THE COALITION Government has started its consultation on the HS2 line from London to Birmingham. This will be the first link in bringing high speed trains to Manchester, Leeds and eventually Scotland. Opponents argue that the £17bn scheme will be a waste of money and that updating the existing West Coast Main Line (WCML) would […]