A Windsor resident, and member of the Windsor & Eton Society, has kindly written to RBWM about the Windsor Link Railway.
WLR suspects that this explanation, including some FAQs, would be useful to many other people and so (with the writer’s permission) these are reproduced there.
Roy Edwards writes:
Dear Councillor Kellaway
On 17 November 2013 I emailed a few of my friends in Windsor a brief introduction to Windsor Councillor George Bathurst’s proposal to shut down Windsor’s two existing railway stations and build a new, longer station so as to fuse its two branch lines into one through line. I discovered considerable interest in his proposal, and considerable scepticism.
Since then I have had a long talk with Bathurst, the founder and promoter of Windsor Link Railway Ltd. From the initial plans drawn up by Bathurst’s engineers I’ve learnt much more of WLR’s plan to update the ramshackle railway network around the Windsor region.
I form the view that their plan is soundly-based engineering; that it is financially viable; and that it should lead to renaissance of Windsor town which is increasingly falling behind its modernising neighbours. I believe it is now time for townspeople to start talking widely about the opportunity presented by WLR.
I have therefore put together a non-technical summary of the plan as I understand it. (Errors are mine of course.) I’m addressing this letter to you as Chairman of the Windsor Highways, Transport, Environmental Overview & Services Panel and to Councillor Burbage as Leader of the Council but my main concern is to help in a small way to bring the plan to the attention of the selection of my friends and acquaintances listed above. For this reason I have copied this letter to these people in the hope that they in turn will spread knowledge of WLR’s plan more widely.
When in 1830 a lady inquired of Michael Faraday what use was his tiny electric motor, she received the reply: “Madam, what use is a baby?” WLR has also given birth to a tiny baby. This baby will undoubtedly undergo great modification as it matures into a fully worked out design. We will all be able to delight in this baby’s growth by Googling “Windsor Link Railway”.
I am hopeful that the mature WLR will be able to lead the renaissance of a town which had its first bailiff in 1321.
Yours sincerely
Roy Proctor Edwards,
Windsor, 2014.1.12
