From Sky News:
More on this here: https://news.sky.com/story/amp/axed...er-new-department-of-transport-plans-11591282
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"Axed rail routes may be reopened under new DfT plans"
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Jorge Da Silva
Established Member
Quite interesting! Didn’t the same happen last year when the DfT published a plan for the railway.
This stood out quite a bit...
The spokesman said that due to the confidentiality issues around its market-led approach, the department was not yet in a position to release details of the proposed projects, but hoped to be able to provide more information in the year ahead.
So basically: the DfT's PR people wanted a "good news" rail story on the grid to coincide with the Boxing Day shutdown, but they didn't have one.
So they re-announce that they want to reverse the Beeching Axe and re-open old lines but say that they can't tell you which ones "due to confidentiality issues around their market-led approach".
If your approach means you, a government department, can't tell the country what you're working on, it's clearly not an acceptable approach?!
The spokesman said that due to the confidentiality issues around its market-led approach, the department was not yet in a position to release details of the proposed projects, but hoped to be able to provide more information in the year ahead.
So basically: the DfT's PR people wanted a "good news" rail story on the grid to coincide with the Boxing Day shutdown, but they didn't have one.
So they re-announce that they want to reverse the Beeching Axe and re-open old lines but say that they can't tell you which ones "due to confidentiality issues around their market-led approach".
If your approach means you, a government department, can't tell the country what you're working on, it's clearly not an acceptable approach?!
Jorge Da Silva
Established Member
https://news.sky.com/story/axed-rai...er-new-department-of-transport-plans-11591282
Is this what you are think of, the plans to reopen old lines by the Government.Axed rail routes may be reopened under new Department for Transport plans
The announcement will give fresh hope to campaign groups, who are still fighting to restore services cut more than 50 years ago.
The Department for Transport has confirmed it is actively working with a number of groups to explore the possibility of reopening old rail routes, axed under the so-called Beeching cuts of the 1960s.
It follows a call by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling a year ago, encouraging those in the public and private sector to submit proposals for potential projects to regenerate old lines.
The announcement will give fresh hope to dozens of campaign groups across the UK, who are still fighting to restore services cut more than half a century ago.
A spokesman for the Department for Transport told Sky News: "We are continuing to grow the rail network to deliver improvements for passengers, unlock new housing and support the economy, including by exploring opportunities to restore previously lost capacity.
"We have received a wide variety of proposals to enhance the railway from across the public and private sector, and are working with promoters to explore opportunities to re-open routes cut under Beeching.
"This is on top of exploring reopening the Northumberland Line for passenger use, supporting the reinstatement of stations on the Camp Hill Line, developing new rail links to Heathrow and a new station at Cambridge South."
The spokesman said that due to the confidentiality issues around its market-led approach, the department was not yet in a position to release details of the proposed projects, but hoped to be able to provide more information in the year ahead.
Image:Great Glen railway station closed in 1964 following the Beeching Report
Dr Richard Beeching became arguably the most infamous name in the history of Britain's railways after he proposed almost a third of the network should be axed to try to regenerate the country's failing and unprofitable rail system.
Despite countrywide protests, by the 1970s around 6,000 miles of track had been lost and more than 2,300 stations closed.
In the years since, many campaign groups have continued their fight to have services restored and a growing number have been successful, with around 50 axed rail routes reopened.
The most successful example of a Beeching axe reversal is the Borders railway in Scotland, which largely follows the route of the old Waverley line between Edinburgh and Carlisle.
Three years ago, a 35-mile stretch of the track was reopened between Edinburgh and Tweedbank in the central Borders.
The Queen and Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon took a train journey down to the Borders to mark the return of the service.
Campaigners are now fighting to convince the Scottish and UK governments to reopen the rest of the line, through the Borders biggest town Hawick and down to Carlisle.
Image:This bridge was part of the Church Fenton to Harrogate line, one of the first to close under the Beeching cuts
They point to the enormous success of the Borders railway, which has seen passenger numbers far exceed the levels predicted.
The managing director of Scotrail, which runs services on the line, is very supportive of efforts to expand the route.
Alex Hynes said: "We've demonstrated, when we build it, people will come.
"And more than three years after the opening of the Borders Railway, we have welcomed our fourth million customer onto the route.
"You might expect that three years after opening, that growth would tail off now, it hasn't.
"On the Borders railway that growth is actually accelerating which means we are going to have to operate longer trains on this route and I think there is more growth to come as well."
Mr Hynes said the restoration of the line had already impacted communities along its route in a very positive way.
Imager Beeching proposed that almost a third of the UK rail network should be axed
"Economic studies have already shown a huge boost to tourism in the region and if you look at the amount of house building along the line of the route, the Borders railway is connecting parts of Scotland with some of the lowest economic value per head with the capital, enabling people to access jobs, opportunities, affordable housing," he said.
"It's a great economic success story for Scotland."
The rail chief has regular meetings with campaigners and others, as efforts continue to extend the line south.
"We want to see a bigger and better railway for Scotland, that will include line openings, I hope," he said.
"Ultimately it is a matter for government, depending on where the extension goes to, UK government as well.
"But we are very happy to support continuing work to look at the feasibility of extending the Borders railway further."
For the moment at least, the Borders railway terminates in the small community of Tweedbank, anyone wishing to head further south has to take the bus, car, or other means of transport.
Imagecotrail is supportive of efforts to expand the Borders route
Around 25 miles south of Tweedbank, the town of Hawick has been badly impacted in the more than 50 years since the loss of its rail service.
Before the line reopened to Tweedbank three years ago, Hawick was the furthest centre of population from a rail station on the UK mainland.
The closure of the main line through the town impacted business and saw Hawick's population shrink by more than 2,000.
Marion Short, vice-chair of the Borders Railway Campaign, regularly walks along the old railway line, heading south out of Hawick.
She told us: "The whole Borders was hit by the railway but Hawick particularly, it was a thriving industry town full of mills and the line's closure led to its demise I think.
"That was the end of it and things have gone downhill since then."
However, Ms Short said she was becoming increasingly confident that the rail line could be restored.
Image:Campaigners say they feel short changed by the emphasis placed on services in the south, like Crossrail
"We feel, based on the success we had on the first part south of Edinburgh, it has now given us the impetus to go forward," she said.
"People don't you just want the railway to come to Hawick, we want it extended through to Carlisle."
The relative success of efforts to restore long-closed rail lines comes against a backdrop of growing criticism of the state of large rail infrastructure projects like HS2 and Crossrail, billions of pounds over budget and behind schedule.
Campaigners Sky News spoke to said they felt short changed by the emphasis that is nearly always placed on rail services in the south of the country, at the expense of often vital rail links to more remote communities.
Ms Short said: "Given that everything else is behind schedule and going over budget, we think it's just a little bit of the pot that we need here.
"I think, unless you live in a rural area, people don't actually understand about the social isolation and the fact that there is no connectivity between communities.
"Speaking to ordinary individuals in this town and across the Borders, we feel somewhat cut off."
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Around seven miles south of Hawick, a stretch of the old Waverley line is still running today, thanks to the efforts of a group of railway enthusiasts.
The Waverley Route Heritage Association has restored around a kilometre of track and runs several old engines on the route as a tourist attraction.
One of the heritage association's members, Bill Renwick, said he believed regenerating the old line could be relatively easily achieved.
"It's very doable, there's a tunnel not far from here where there's a small rock fall at the front," he said. "But that tunnel could be opened out, or re-lined.
"There isn't an engineering problem they couldn't get over.
"Hopefully, the Scottish and English governments, with the borderlands initiative, could make a really good case for it and get it straight across the border."
Along much of the old Waverley line, many the bridges, embankments and tunnels are still in place.
They would all need substantial work before passenger services could run again.
But campaigners say just a fraction of the funds earmarked for the troubled Crossrail or HS2 projects would help restore rail links to some of the country's most isolated communities.
Pete_uk
On Moderation
Kemble to Cirencester would be good.
Jorge Da Silva
Established Member
Has been proposed a couple of years ago and there is a campaign group to reinstate it as far as Chesterton Lane
That would be good, as long as I can get on the train in Hullavington first
On a serious note what used to be sound the wilts / gloucs area that could be reinstated?
duffield
Established Member
Positive: The fact that it's even being discussed or suggested at this level.
Negative: We've heard this sort of thing before and (mostly) nothing ever comes of it.
Negative: We've heard this sort of thing before and (mostly) nothing ever comes of it.
tbtc
Veteran Member
That, and anger about people's fares going up next week too - but they know that this is an easy way to generate positive headlines - they know that people will fall for the prospect of reopening some quaint rural line, newspaper columnists will seize the opportunity to write a simple "why oh why" article about the supposed fallacy of closing all these lines in the first place (or the usual "instead of building HS2 between our largest urban areas, why not re-open the line to this Devon village"), casual enthusiasts will dust down their crayola to suggest the first few routes that we should be spending hundreds of millions of pounds on re-opening...
...and nothing will change, just like nothing changed last time. Or the time before that. But the tactic clearly works because people keep falling for it.
(as for the idea that, given the backlog of things like electrification to Leicester/ Oxford/ Bristol or delays in East-West or reliability problems caused by insufficient electricity supply south of the Thames or the "paused" schemes like TPE upgrade etc etc... we should be thrown money on putting heavy rail back to rural villages...
)
deltic
Established Member
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Its almost 10 years since ATOC's rail reopening report which proposed 14 lines and 40 stations for reopening. I cant find the original report now but I dont think a single one of those has progressed very far. A classic space filler story which paints DfT in a good light when there is no-one around to rip it apart.
Link to the report (downloads straight away):
https://ccc-live.storage.googleapis...onnecting_Communities_to_the_rail_network.pdf
johnnychips
Established Member
More studies, nothing will get done! Sorry for cynicism.
Exactly. Let's not get carried away by this and start making wish lists.
It's highly likely there could be a general election in 2019, so, as usual, the government starts making all sorts of promises which they have no intention of keeping - particularly in marginal constituencies!
deltic
Established Member
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Thanks - and yes none of the proposed line reopenings have got anywhere
InTheEastMids
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in my opinion, it looks like a non-story released at a quiet time of the year for good PR value. No routes mentioned, no firm commitment of resources, and DfT massively overstretched by Brexit means that anything discretionary (like reopening) is firmly on their back burner.
DarloRich
Veteran Member
That's exactly what it is. And it has done many posters up like a kipper. Same every single time.
xotGD
Established Member
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Instead of funding 20 studies they should just crack on with one, just one, reopening.
Preferably Skipton to Colne, where there has already been a study funded and both passenger and freight services would use the route.
Preferably Skipton to Colne, where there has already been a study funded and both passenger and freight services would use the route.
DarloRich
Veteran Member
It has found passengers might use the route and there is a potential for freight. Not a certainty. It also doesn't offer any funding to sort out the junctions at leeds to support these alleged freight moves
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47271
Established Member
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There's another way to look at this story.
Mark White comes from Hawick and I think has made a good attempt to write a positive piece around the Borders Railway becoming a springboard for other reopenings around the UK. He may not necessarily be aware of the uselessness of the DfT.
Mark White comes from Hawick and I think has made a good attempt to write a positive piece around the Borders Railway becoming a springboard for other reopenings around the UK. He may not necessarily be aware of the uselessness of the DfT.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Interesting that the Skem proposal was from Ormskirk rather than the more likely Rainford.
There is a far more negative attitude from Gov in England towards this type of thing, compared to Scotland and Wales. Same with road tolls, hospital parking (in the news now), prescriptions, eye and dental check-ups. All mostly free in Wales and Scotland, not here in England. The Severn Bridges into Wales went free. The other bridges and tunnels wholly in England remain rip-off. The East-West line has had numerous false starts as shown in the article in the Jan. Today's Railways mag. That will happen, years later than intended. Others are far less certain, although not officially lost causes just yet.
All of the above is not about money, it is about attitude. Scotland and Wales have a more constructive, long term benefit outlook. England only sees the short term, the cost of everything, to the exclusion of all other factors.
All of the above is not about money, it is about attitude. Scotland and Wales have a more constructive, long term benefit outlook. England only sees the short term, the cost of everything, to the exclusion of all other factors.
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The only slight glimmer of hope in my view, is that such reopenings could suit the Government's agenda. It could fit with the new enhancements model, it could be done with private contractors, and it would of course be almost entirely done 'offline' so not risking the kind of disruption other rail enhancements have.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
It would possibly prove an opportunity to try out the German-style microfranchise model. Though arguably we already have one - the Stourbridge shuttle isn't operated directly by WMT, but by a company related to Parry under contract.
The Rawtenstall/Heywood one could perhaps, as an idea, be branded something like "Metrolink Connect" and operated on behalf of TfGM in the Metrolink ticketing system rather than the National Rail one?
The junctions at Leeds don't need sorting out. If there was room for 43 coal trains per 24 hours across these junctions then there should be room for a handful of freights off the Skipton-Colne route.
Xenophon PCDGS
Veteran Member
Both Rawtenstall and Heywood already have good regular bus services into the Bury bus/tram interchange that people from them and the intermediate areas use the existing numerous bus stops serving local district areas already use to access the Bury to Manchester Metrolink service.
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DarloRich
Veteran Member
But there isnt room for 43 coal trains every 24 hours. Honestly. There isnt.
Jorge Da Silva
Established Member
The idea I think is to provide a peak-hour shuttle service from Rawtenstall to the disused bay platform at Bury Bolton Street. Then provide a regular service from Bury Bolton Street to Castleton. Rossendale is the only borough of Greater Manchester not to be served by either Metrolink or a Railway.
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