The chair of a railway action group has said that freight trains being diverted through South Holland will provide greater traffic problems than first realised.
George Scott of the Spalding and Peterborough Transport Forum told a recent meeting of the Spalding Town Centre Forum that from 2021, he believes railway crossings in the town will be down to allow trains through for between 20 and 30 minutes of every hour.
He says more freight trains will pass through the town than present when a new rail pass near Werrington is scheduled for completion in two years’ time.
In a statement to the meeting having visited the Werrington construction site, he said: “I am now convinced that the impact on our rail line, crossings etc is going to be far greater than first thought with the railway crossings going to be down longer than first anticipated.
“This, of course, will not only be for freight traffic but passenger traffic also, and sometimes for East Coast Mainline traffic when closed.
“The pollution from diesel trains, which will be the norm and the increase of around the estimated 30 per cent rise will affect houses near the line during the night and day.”
However, Coun Christine Lawton responded by saying: “For every train that delivers goods, how many lorries does that take off the road?”
