Westminster only seems interested in billion pound projects rather than million pound ones
Funny you should say that, because I think that this is true of the reinstatement crowd.
The much hyped Alloa and Ebbw Vale reopening work as straightforward branches, hourly services terminate there nothing fancy.
But if someone suggests a simple extension from Bere Alston to Tavistock, to provide a shuttle to Plymouth they get the response that no, we need a double tracked line from Exeter to Plymouth via Okehampton, with direct trains from Waterloo, to act as a diversionary route when Dawlish is closed".
If someone suggests a simple extension from Harrogate to Whitby, to provide a shuttle to Leeds they get the response that no, we need a double tracked line through to Northallerton to allow 125mph services from Liverpool to Edinburgh to avoid the busy city of York.
If someone suggests a simple extension from Matlock to Bakewell, to provide a shuttle to Derby/ Nottingham they get the response that no, we need a double tracked line through Millers Dale to act as a diversionary route between London and Manchester.
If someone suggests a simple extension from Alloa to Kincardine, to extend the existing Glasgow service they get the response that no, we need to reinstate the line through Fife to provide a direct service from Glasgow to Levenmouth via Stirling.
I wouldnt mind some of these ideas if they could stick to the realms of reality, but some enthusiasts seem obsessed with adding grandiose layers to proposals (e.g. Skipton to Colne would allow a vital transpennine line from Hull to Liverpool, apparently), so what could be a quick win (60mph, single track, lightweight vehicles like Class 230s) ends up weighed down with requirements to be a double track line capable of taking InterCity services, needing to spend an extra few hundred million to add resilience as diversionary capacity instead of putting passengers on coaches for a couple of weekends a year...
If you want to reopen old lines, stick to something simple, like Bristol to Portishead, Morpeth to Blyth, Thornton Junction to Methil (short distance, relatively slow, mainly single track)... forget about these overblown schemes like BML2... stick to the basics.
As a rule of thumb, if your pet scheme needs phrases like inter-regional-connectivity and strategic resilience then it has a relatively weak case on its own. Alloa and Ebbw Vale should be the benchmark for Keep It Simple, Stupid.
(also worth pointing out that the cost difference between Tavistock as a simple branch and Tavistock as part of a double tracked line with through services from Waterloo to Okehampton would probably pay for a simple line to Portishead and one to Blyth)
