"Thoughtless" timing for rail blockade?

As has been well reported here, there is a blockade on the rail line between Scunthorpe and Thorne this summer. Not the best time for the tourist traffic to Cleethorpes, though so far there hasn't been any really vocal complaints about this - until this week - less than a week before the blockade. Shona McIssac, the MP for Cleethorpes has called the planning "thoughtless" and questioned why the work could not happen at another time of the year.

No, it is not ideal for Cleethorpes, but the line is more than just a passenger line - it's a key freight route, and this is the quietest time for such traffic. The timing is not thoughtless, it has been timed on purpose. A decision has been made that the freight traffic is more important than the rail-transported Cleethorpes tourist traffic. And considering the lack of really vocal complaints or campaign from Cleethorpes businesses, I would tend to agree that the timing is the best possible. Obviously there can't be that many vistors coming in by rail, otherwise there would have been more complaints. No time is ideal, but the work is essential and needs doing at some point, and urgently.

As a follow up to last weeks post on the blockade and TransPennine Express's replacement bus services, Northern Rail have their bus replacement timetable online. Roughly hourly Scunthorpe to Hatfield and Stainforth as expected. Will serve the station car parks in Scunthorpe and Hatfield and Stainforth, the main road outside Althorpe Station, Wharf Road in Crowle and the Miller Lane/Ellison Street junction in Thorne.