Methodology
The methodology identifies potential ConnectedCities in a region or in the whole of a country. It ensures that there are as many ConnectedCities as there can be on the existing railways and that wherever possible an inter-town route has development along its whole length
Identify all towns and cities with a population over 10,000 and all railways other than the High Speed Rail. Ignore towns under 10,000 as they are unlikely to become hub towns.
The towns and cities on a railway or light railway are potential Hub Towns or Sister Towns. Treat those not on a railway as rural towns unsuitable for large-scale development.
Treat those over 50.000 (other than those in large cities) as potential Large Hub Towns.
Identify all stations within 15 minutes journey time of one of these large hub towns. They will be ConnectedCity stations. At this stage ignore the potential for new stations.
Some sections of the routes connecting the large hub towns will have gaps where stations cannot be ConnectedCity stations as they are more than 15 minutes from the large hub towns at each end of the section. These gaps are “filled” by identifying one or more of the towns on the section, usually the largest or the best placed, as Small Hub Towns.
Where there are potential overlaps, apply a formula based on the journey time from, and the population of, each hub town to place a station in its ConnectedCity.
Once this exercise has been completed, an analysis of the growth potential in the pedsheds of a ConnectedCity's stations can be undertaken, and the possibility of new stations explored.
The real planning can then begin, as local communities consult together and vary these paper proposals to arrive at the solution that suits them best.
The ConnectedCities Methodology explores the maximum capacity of the infrastructure to accommodate ConnectedCities