A PROPOSED new railway service may ultimately be “inferior to the existing bus service”, the chair of a local environmental group has said.
Nigel Jones, of Jersey in Transition, spoke after Infrastructure Minister Andy Jehan confirmed that his department was due to meet Jersey Western Railway founder Alex Sparrow to “discuss his ideas”.
Mr Sparrow wants to create an “affordable and sustainable” railway service between St Helier, Corbière and the Airport.
His intended scheme would involve around 30 electrically-operated locomotives, with a train departing in each direction every seven and a half minutes and a terminus based at Trenton Square.
The Island’s ‘original’ western railway opened in 1870.
Initially linking St Helier to St Aubin, it would be expanded over the years to reach Corbière before closing in the 1930s.
Mr Jones said: “We’ve already got another excellent use of where the railway line used to run, which is as a cycle and pedestrian path.
“My other thought is that we do already have a very good public transport route from Corbière to town, which is the 12A bus.”
He contended that the project would be “a massive piece of work” that could ultimately be “inferior to the existing bus service”.
“I’m wholly in favour of public transport and I use trains when I go to England or France, but I honestly don’t see how reinstating the trains in Jersey is going to give us a service that is better than the buses can be.”
Reacting to Mr Jones’s comments, Mr Sparrow said: “We’re not looking to take away from the bus service – we’re hoping to reduce the number of cars that are used in the Island,” adding that the intention was also “to keep the infrastructure in place for cyclists and pedestrians”.
But he stressed that “everyone’s perspective is important” and stated that he would “openly invite” discussions with anyone who had feedback regarding the project, including those critical of his proposal.
