Transport Wingnut Alert

Patrick Crozier linked to a site called Transport Watch, describing it as "Lots of facts, lots of comparisons".

While it is a professional-looking site, it doesn't take more that a quick glance to realise that this site has an ideological axe to grind. The name, including the word "Watch" ought to be a dead giveaway. The bland introduction deliberately avoids telling us what that ideological axe is; you have to read behind the lines to recognise their real barking moonbat beliefs.

Transport Watch is an independent organisation not connected with any business, organisation or political party initially funded by a private trust and dedicated to making the best use of land already committed to transport in the interests of the community as a whole.

It all seems to be the work of one man, Paul F Withrington. I did a bit of Googling on the name, and came up with this ridiculous troll posting on the uk.railway newsgroup, posted four years ago.

Contrary to pupular belief, passenger rail is three to five times as expensive, has one-third the capacity to move people, uses up to three times the fuel and probably kills as many people per passenger-mile as would an equivalent express bus service.

If rail is such a good idea, why not pave the M! with railway lines?

Of course, if they did that the system would be brought to a near standstill tomorrow - just like the 10000 miles of right of way currently sterilised by railway lines - they carry an average flow equivalent to only 250 buses plus lorries per day per track.

The railway modernisation programme is to cost UKP60 billion. It is equivalent to building six domes per year every year for 10 years. The effect on the share price is nil. That price is so low the whole system could be bought for a mere UKP5 billion at a time when the replacement cost is between six and 100 times that value.

Those who wish to see the Northampton loop "modernised" should bear in mind that when they have spent the UKP5.8 billion on the WCML they will have increased capacity at Euston by the equivalent of about one bus per minute per track. How pathetic can you get?

The alternative is to remove the tracks and to use the rights of way for buses and lorries. We could then get to London in about one hour for one-third the cost and have a much more frequent service to boot.

If any person wishes to challenge the above, I will pay them UKP1000 for every point they can overturn in a discussion devoted to finding the truth, provided they will pay me UKP500 upon losing the case. I cannot wait to be rich.

It spawned a 100 message thread, which contained no further comment or contribution by Mr Withrington. There is no record of anyone attempting to claim the throusand pounds. I doubt Mr Withrington even read the replies,

The idea of converting railways into roads seems to a common meme in wingnut-libertoid circles, the rightwing equivalent of moonbat-left ideas to ban the private car (although I have never heard any leftie of green seriously advocate the latter). These idiotarians attempt to justify their case with reams of totally bogus statistics, full of hopelessly flawed assumptions and outright falsehoods. There is no point trying to reason with them. They up there with the people who want to privatise the pavements, or think PRT is feasible.