Places on existing lines where new stations could be built.

[Bald Rick]

Guildford (Park Barn/Research Park) - Another good idea, however this may well be scotched due to the serious gradients approaching it either way, also parking may well be very problematical, unless you demolish the current Tesco's and build a massive underground car park and then replace it, also Park Barn isn't exactly a desirable place to be at any time of day.

Oi! Some of us grew up there! And some of us can remember watching that Tescos being built, on the athletics track. No sports day from then on.
But you wouldn't need parking, as anyone driving would surely just carry in to Guildford for a far better range of services (or, as it is that side of town, Worplesdon or Brookwood).

The main issue with a station at Park Barn is that the timetable would need a complete rewrite to get anything to stop there, and it would need at least one more diagram.

 

[HarleyDavidson]

Oi! Some of us grew up there! And some of us can remember watching that Tescos being built, on the athletics track. No sports day from then on.
But you wouldn't need parking, as anyone driving would surely just carry in to Guildford for a far better range of services (or, as it is that side of town, Worplesdon or Brookwood).

The main issue with a station at Park Barn is that the timetable would need a complete rewrite to get anything to stop there, and it would need at least one more diagram.

Ah some of us have crosses to bear don't we.

An awful lot of people who commute into Guildford & those who turn up after 0730 will be very lucky to find a parking space anywhere, unless its school holiday time and even then on certain days you'll be lucky.

They even park in the staff car park and bays, which earns them a nice £80 fine or £200+ clamp.

So the Park Barn station to serve RSCH/Park Barn & Research Park would be a very good option, apart from the fairly steep gradient that it's on.

 

[thenorthern]

It's called Newcastle Central!

Funny, its just a pain in Gateshead that there are no rail links to the MetroCentre from Gateshead itself but there is from Newcastle and Sunderland.

Talking of the North East though would a station at Birtley serving Washington work?

 

[Clansman]

Some of from up here;

Dundee West
Perth Inveralmond
Stanley
Luncarty
Murthly
Bridge of Earn
Blackford
Gorgie East
Craiglockhart
Morningside
Blackford Hill
Newington
Portobello

 

[The_Rail_WAy]

Guildford park and ride
Lancaster University
Garstang
Deane (Bolton West)
Wigan Parkway (for DW stadium)

 

[muz379]

in the vicinity of Pendlebury between Salford crescent and Swinton on the atherton line

Wavertree parkway , between edge hill and mossley hill

 

[Jonny]

As others have said Peterlee I think should have a station.

A proper station serving Gateshead would be nice as well.

Durham County Council did run a consultation on building a new railway station at Horden, which would put parts of Peterlee within walking distance of a station; apparently it's between stages 3 and 4 of the GRIP process (according to http://www.durham.gov.uk/article/7707/Proposal-for-a-new-railway-station-at-Horden ).

A "Gateshead Team Valley" station on the East Coast mainline between Newcastle and Chester-le-Street could serve as a hub for the wider Gateshead area as well as access to Team Valley Trading Estate

As for Gateshead/Team Valley, a new station near the site of the old Low Fell station would be quite useful, or maybe even slightly further south to interact with the A1 and be a parkway station. It could be placed on the approach to Tyne Yard with only minimal (if any) disturbance to freight operations there.

If the curve was reinstated down from the Gateshead end of the King Edward Bridge to Low Fell Yard then the station could be off the main line and closer to the Team Valley.

It might be a good idea to have such an arrangement, but there is a sharp gradient on the climb to the King Edward Bridge that would make it less useful for freight trains. Also, Dunston (station) is nearby and a quick reversal (possibly with minor signalling improvements) is probably a more viable option, at least in the short term, possibly even in one direction only so as to minimise track conflicts.

It's called Newcastle Central!

While in days gone by Newcastle Central Station made a good railhead for a large area, given the seriously fouled up current (post-2010) road arrangements around Newcastle Central and being the other side of the Tyne, it's hardly an interchange for much of Gateshead, let alone further afield. Heworth and Metrocentre cover parts, but they are hardly ideal even as connection destinations; also Dunston and Blaydon will only ever have limited catchment areas.

 

[thenorthern]

For its location Gateshead as a whole is poorly served by rail in my opinion, there are from what I understand 4 mainline stations stations in the borough none of which have the name Gateshead in their name and only MetroCentre sees more than 1 main line train per hour.

Also none of the National Rail or Metro stations have many connections to each other for example its not possible to get from Gateshead Metro to MetroCenter station although it is from Heworth although passenger numbers at Heworth are rather low. Dunston and Blaydon are also lightly used after years of poor service.

Also the entire south of Gateshead isn't served by any rail links whatsoever.

 

[Segedunum]

Gateshead indeed has a poor service but the issue with the idea with having the likes of a Team Valley station would be what kind of service would call? I assume that the Northern Connect service to Middlesbrough via Durham would be a likely candidate in future, as you couldn't ram more people onto busy TPE services for example in the morning and evening peak.

Gateshead indeed also lacks a service to the MetroCentre but it does have a bus service (the X66) which has been heavily marketed and heavily used where the demand exists (mainly weekends for example). It also runs at a high frequency of up to every 6 minutes so you may struggle to persuade many off the train considering the unlikely journey time difference and the need for a turn up and go service. From experience, there's always an X66 sat at Gateshead during the day with another coming in behind once it leaves.

Sent from my SM-A310F using Tapatalk

 

[thenorthern]

Gateshead indeed has a poor service but the issue with the idea with having the likes of a Team Valley station would be what kind of service would call? I assume that the Northern Connect service to Middlesbrough via Durham would be a likely candidate in future, as you couldn't ram more people onto busy TPE services for example in the morning and evening peak.

Gateshead indeed also lacks a service to the MetroCentre but it does have a bus service (the X66) which has been heavily marketed and heavily used where the demand exists (mainly weekends for example). It also runs at a high frequency of up to every 6 minutes so you may struggle to persuade many off the train considering the unlikely journey time difference and the need for a turn up and go service. From experience, there's always an X66 sat at Gateshead during the day with another coming in behind once it leaves.

Sent from my SM-A310F using Tapatalk

If it wasn't for the fact that its on a busy main line I would say a local Durham - Newcastle service with stops at Birtley, Team Valley, Gateshead (new) could work. I think as well TransPennine Express would probably stop at a Gateshead station if it was available.

The current system in Tyne and Wear is down to poor planning by British Rail and Dr Beeching thinking it would be a good idea to close a lot of lines around Tyne and Wear and to create two parallel rail systems of suburban rail and a metro that don't interact with each other very well.

 

[muddythefish]

Rothwell and Desborough are significant and fast growing towns between Kettering and Market Harborough that ought to be able to sustain a joint station. There used to be a station at Desborough but the site is now a Co-Op.

 

[fowler9]

in the vicinity of Pendlebury between Salford crescent and Swinton on the atherton line

Wavertree parkway , between edge hill and mossley hill

Yeah I mentioned Sefton Park station before as I think it used to be called. I don't think it would be a Parkway as there is nowhere to put a car park apart from on the park (Wavertree Mystery) which I don't think would go down well and isn't an ideal location to funnel people to in their cars. The roads around there are chocka already at commuting times.

 

[70014IronDuke]

If it wasn't for the fact that its on a busy main line I would say a local Durham - Newcastle service with stops at Birtley, Team Valley, Gateshead (new) could work. I think as well TransPennine Express would probably stop at a Gateshead station if it was available.

The current system in Tyne and Wear is down to poor planning by British Rail and Dr Beeching thinking it would be a good idea to close a lot of lines around Tyne and Wear and to create two parallel rail systems of suburban rail and a metro that don't interact with each other very well.

What about the Leamside line? If re-opened, could not some ECML and XC services be routed that way, leaving paths for stoppers on the Low Fell route? (I agree that Durham would still be a pinch point, probably.)

I don't know the modern track layout at the northern end of the Leamside - could it be electrified, or is that impossible because of the Metro wires on the same lines? (which only goes to underline your last point).

 

[70014IronDuke]

Rothwell and Desborough are significant and fast growing towns between Kettering and Market Harborough that ought to be able to sustain a joint station. There used to be a station at Desborough but the site is now a Co-Op.

So no space for a re-opened Desboro on the old site then? I never thought Rothwell stood a chance of staying open, but at the time I felt Desboro (and Kibworth) only closed because BR didn't want to run any local service, and the villages could not really justify stops in the Class 45-hauled semi-fast services. (Yes, I know the odd one did stop at Desboro until it closed.)

EDIT: Isn't Rothwell on the bank, up from Glendon Jcn? In which case, would the ORR allow a re-opening? And would there be enough headway for another stop on the EMT semi-fasts today?

 

[Cheshire Rover]

There was talk a few years ago from Halton Council of building a station in the Beechwood area of Runcorn should the Halton Curve reopen. Work on the Curve (allegedly) starts later this year but talk regarding a new station has gone quiet.
The location would offer a bus/rail interchange. The existing bus station actually sits between the Halton Curve on one side and the WCML branch to Liverpool on the other.

I have added a Google Map link showing the area.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.3211965,-2.7140903,448m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

[70014IronDuke]

There are several places in and around Cambridge where new stations could be built:

• Addenbrooke's Hospital (Cambridge South)
• Fulbourne or Cherry Hinton (could serve as a Park & Ride)
• Hinxton or Ickleton

.... .

The lack of effort to reinstate both Fulbourne and Cherry Hinton is shocking. Should have been done years ago.

how about: reopen Wisbech - March, Soham, Fulbourne, Cherry Hinton and the south-west to north-east chord at Newmarket, and run an hourly Wisbech - Cambridge service via Soham and Newmarket. Of course, it would be faster for through passengers to change at Ely, but Cambridge-Ely must be near capacity now, so this would be, in effect, two-three totally new services linked together. Dunno, might need to (re-)double some of the Cambridge-Newmarket line too to fit everything in.
Would be a useful diversionary route too, at least for DMUs.

 

[70014IronDuke]

Unless I've missed it, kind of surprised nobody's mentioned Carnforth main line platforms - not even a new station - just a bit of one

 

[TheDavibob]

The lack of effort to reinstate both Fulbourne and Cherry Hinton is shocking. Should have been done years ago.

how about: reopen Wisbech - March, Soham, Fulbourne, Cherry Hinton and the south-west to north-east chord at Ely, and run an hourly Wisbech - Cambridge service via Soham and Ely. Of course, it would be faster for through passengers to change at Ely, but Cambridge-Ely must be near capacity now, so this would be, in effect, two-three totally new services linked together. Dunno, might need to double some of the Cambridge-Ely line too to fit everything in.
Would be a useful diversionary route too, at least for DMUs.

Given the lack of progress in doubling Ely-Soham and reopening Soham station, the rest seems a bit of a long shot for the time being, useful though it would be (particularly the enhancement of Newmarket-Cambridge, and connecting Wisbech and March into Cambridgeshire properly). As ever, the most critical bit is Ely North junction. It will be interesting what, if any, effect the forthcoming Cambs/Photo mayor will have on railways in the county, particularly Wisbech.

 

[fowler9]

There was talk a few years ago from Halton Council of building a station in the Beechwood area of Runcorn should the Halton Curve reopen. Work on the Curve (allegedly) starts later this year but talk regarding a new station has gone quiet.
The location would offer a bus/rail interchange. The existing bus station actually sits between the Halton Curve on one side and the WCML branch to Liverpool on the other.

I have added a Google Map link showing the area.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.3211965,-2.7140903,448m/data=!3m1!1e3

Thats a bus garage not a bus station isn't it? Not half close to Runcorn station as well.

 

[jopsuk]

The lack of effort to reinstate both Fulbourne and Cherry Hinton is shocking. Should have been done years ago.

how about: reopen Wisbech - March, Soham, Fulbourne, Cherry Hinton and the south-west to north-east chord at Ely, and run an hourly Wisbech - Cambridge service via Soham and Ely. Of course, it would be faster for through passengers to change at Ely, but Cambridge-Ely must be near capacity now, so this would be, in effect, two-three totally new services linked together. Dunno, might need to double some of the Cambridge-Ely line too to fit everything in.
Would be a useful diversionary route too, at least for DMUs.

Presumably you mean "double some of the Cambridge-Newmarket line" and the chord you need reinstated would be at Newmarket- no chord needed at Ely, and the line through Waterbeach is double all the way.

It would be good, though ideally it would be an even more expensive rebuild through Cambridge- with a larger pedestrian/cycle underpass at Coldham's Common, a slightly higher and much wider bridge at Coldham's Lane, a new Tins path bridge and then in to a cutting through Cherry Hinton to eliminate the level crossings at the High Street and bypass.

 

[Cheshire Rover]

Thats a bus garage not a bus station isn't it? Not half close to Runcorn station as well.

It used to be a Crosville (age showing now) interchange. Currently a bus garage I think but am sure it was designed to fit in with the New Town busway system.

 

[70014IronDuke]

Presumably you mean "double some of the Cambridge-Newmarket line" and the chord you need reinstated would be at Newmarket- no chord needed at Ely, and the line through Waterbeach is double all the way.

Yes, of course - apologies, I shall edit. Brain f*+t moment

 

[70014IronDuke]

Given the lack of progress in doubling Ely-Soham and reopening Soham station, the rest seems a bit of a long shot for the time being, useful though it would be (particularly the enhancement of Newmarket-Cambridge, and connecting Wisbech and March into Cambridgeshire properly).
...

Yes, of course it's highly unlikely to happen, unless there is a radical change of thinking by the local authorities.

But I think - unlike some other reopening and development schemes - the 'piece by piece' approach will also never happen, or only excruciatingly slowly. For example, reopening to Wisbech alone will never happen because it just won't seem to be worth it. Where would the trains run to? A March shuttle? (not attractive enough to win many pax) Cambridge? (Not enough paths, and probably not attractive enough).

As you say, even Soham reopening just doesn't seem to be happening. to my mind, that's because it really needs to be to Cambridge (and Newmarket) direct - not as part of the Peterborough - Ipswich service, even though those trains should also stop.

Alone, such schemes just don't feel attractive enough, but if all were linked as part of a grander, long-term scheme, with a bunch of new connections being made, then the sum of the parts could ignite interest across a broader spectrum of authorities.

 

[nottinghamcity]

There have been a number of ideas kicking around for donkeys years in the West Midlands. They generally disappear after a couple of years:
Castle Bromwich
Aldridge
Kingsbury
Sutton Park
Kings Heath
All spring immediately to mind.

 

[fowler9]

It used to be a Crosville (age showing now) interchange. Currently a bus garage I think but am sure it was designed to fit in with the New Town busway system.

Cheers Cheshire. Didn't know that. I believe I woke up there one night after post work drinks on a Friday in Liverpool (Many miles after my destination, ha ha).

 

[59CosG95]

There have been a number of ideas kicking around for donkeys years in the West Midlands. They generally disappear after a couple of years:
Castle Bromwich
Aldridge
Kingsbury
Sutton Park
Kings Heath
All spring immediately to mind.

I know that TfWM are considering Kings Heath, as well as Moseley & Hazelwell for the Bordesley Chords scheme in CP6, which'll return passenger trains to the Camp Hill Line. Not 100% sure on the others.

 

[59CosG95]

Not sure if one's planned for Wilton, but a 4-platform station at the junction between the Wessex & West of England Main Lines (near the Park & Ride) would be a very good shout.

So, turns out a station IS planned for Wilton, just by the split of the GWR and SWT lines; however, only the former is served. Doesn't make a ton of sense to me, surely there's reason enough to put 2 new platforms on the lines to Yeovil! https://transwilts.org/tw/transwilts/wilton-parkway

 

[Dr_Paul]

As you say, even Soham reopening just doesn't seem to be happening.

A town such as Soham has no station, yet Shippea Hill, which gets about two passengers a week and has a service that is useless for any practical purpose, stays open -- there is a certain lack of logic here.

 

[jopsuk]

it costs money to build and open a station. It costs very little to keep a station like Shippea Hill (which would consider two passengers to be a busy week, it's got as low as one per month) and there is a significant cost associated with the formal closure process.

 

[IanD]

Baker's Arms (Leyton)