Restoring your Railways: Winning schemes announced

[Nicholas Lewis]

The only significant paragraph in the Treasury papers about the rail settlement is this one (4.63, p110):
BUDGET 2021: Protecting the jobs and livelihoods of the British people (publishing.service.gov.uk)

The "SR21 period" will be the 3 years of the spending review, April 2022 - March 2025
Somewhere in the £35 billion will be the spend the Chancellor will allow for HS2, NPR and other rail enhancements in the 3-year period.
Sooner or later someone will be able to identify the individual project spend and work out what it means on the ground.
As expected we'll have to wait for the full Integrated Rail Plan for any detail.

The equivalent money for roads is £24 billion (2020-25).
There is also £23 million for the anticipated outcome of Peter Hendy's Union Connectivity review, whatever emerges from that.

This from p63

continuing to spend £500 million to restore transport services lost in the Beeching cuts of the 1960s and improve local connectivity. This includes £13 million to develop proposals to reinstate passenger services between Totton and Fawley in Hampshire, re-open railway stations in Wellington in Somerset and Cullompton in Devon, and develop thirteen early-stage proposals to restore rail connections across England and Wales, including schemes at Darlington and Weardale; Ashton and Stockport; Middlewich and Gadbrook Park; and Buckley Wells and Rawtenstall.

 

[CptCharlee]

Plymouth to Tavistock....finally!!!

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Plymouth to Tavistock....finally!!!

The funding pays for feasibility studies.
It's a big jump from there to actually funding a full reopening, but it's a start.
Stoke-Leek is on that list, also Gaerwen to Amlwch, and I find it very hard to see those lines back in service.
Stations on lines still open for freight stand a much better chance (eg Middlewich and Stocksbridge).
I note Colne-Skipton isn't on the list.

 

[stuu]

Plymouth to Tavistock....finally!!!

It got a share of £50k. It's not even going to pay much of the cost of the most basic business case

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

It got a share of £50k. It's not even going to pay much of the cost of the most basic business case

So the following 13 schemes get 50k each enough to pay for some glossy pamphlets and the give the opportunity for the local politician to push the levelling up narrative and make local people feel like they haven't been forgotten. Hard reality is the budget is 500m of which Ashington will absorb nearly half of it so unless any of these are similar to Okehampton not much is going to happen for years if ever.

£650,000 to pay for feasibility work on 13 successful ‘Ideas Fund’ proposals for new lines and stations reinstating passenger links from: Stoke to Leek; Darlington to Weardale; Ashton to Stockport; Oswestry to Gobowen; Beverley to York; Middlewich and Gadbrook Park; Buckley Wells to Rawtenstall; Stocksbridge to Sheffield Victoria; Tavistock to Plymouth; Gaerwen to Amlwch; the Askern Branch line; and to re-open Corsham station and Stonehouse Bristol Road station

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I note Colne-Skipton isn't on the list.

TBH I did not expect it would be even though many on this board would like it.

 

[Starmill]

The funding pays for feasibility studies.
It's a big jump from there to actually funding a full reopening, but it's a start.
Stoke-Leek is on that list, also Gaerwen to Amlwch, and I find it very hard to see those lines back in service.
Stations on lines still open for freight stand a much better chance (eg Middlewich and Stocksbridge).
I note Colne-Skipton isn't on the list.

Colne - Skipton weren't successful because they weren't applicants

The list is here:

Restoring your railway: successful bids - GOV.UK

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk

 

[waverley47]

Weardale??? Surely not, there's sweet f all up there unless you want a tunnel under the Pennines to meet the settle-carlisle line

 

[swt_passenger]

Yet another breakdown on page 112. The earlier extract makes it seem the lions share goes to Fawley, but this has it different again:

• £7 million development funding from 2021-22 to 2024-25 to reopen passenger services between Totton and Fawley in Hampshire and £5 million development funding over the SR period to reopen rail stations in Wellington, Somerset and Cullompton, Devon. These investments will help reconnect local communities and support regional growth
• £650,000 to pay for feasibility work on 13 successful ‘Ideas Fund’ proposals for new lines and stations reinstating passenger links from: Stoke to Leek; Darlington to Weardale; Ashton to Stockport; Oswestry to Gobowen; Beverley to York; Middlewich and Gadbrook Park; Buckley Wells to Rawtenstall; Stocksbridge to Sheffield Victoria; Tavistock to Plymouth; Gaerwen to Amlwch; the Askern Branch line; and to re-open Corsham station and Stonehouse Bristol Road station.

 

[Ianno87]

.

Is this some sort of missing piece which connects two large towns or cities, or opens up some hefty freight flows which aren't possible? Is there some sort of strategic benefit?

East West Rail. And that's being done. But that's not a Beeching fantasy.

 

[D821]

Oswestry - Gobowen line - would this make Oswestry a through station or replace Gobowen as terminal? I vaguely know the area.

 

[Gloster]

£13+ million to the south and south-west, and £500,000 to places further north. I am sure that the ‘red wall’ seats will be overjoyed by this evidence of levelling up.

 

[mister-sparky]

Stockport to Ashton? But that’s not closed…

 

[javelin]

Stockport to Ashton? But that’s not closed…

To Ashton, it is...

 

[WatcherZero]

Its feasibility for a tram-train line between Ashton and Stockport.

 

[Doctor Fegg]

Gaerwen to Amlwch? What's the Welsh for "you're having a giraffe"?

 

[stuu]

£13+ million to the south and south-west, and £500,000 to places further north. I am sure that the ‘red wall’ seats will be overjoyed by this evidence of levelling up.

Remind me where Ashington is again? As that is where most of the actual £500m has gone

 

[D821]

Gaerwen to Amlwch? What's the Welsh for "you're having a giraffe"?

I was trying to understand how that would work, would they terminate there? Is it instead of trains going to Holyhead?

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Gaerwen to Amlwch? What's the Welsh for "you're having a giraffe"?

My long ago "O" level Welsh cannot assist , as a medieval (or older) language with subtle modernisms , I suspect "giraffe" is not in the vocabularly.

I suppose some sort of local North Wales service could assist serviceplanning , something like a Llandudno - Bangor - Gaerwen - Amlwch would be postulated.

I expect to be shot down inflames any hour now....

 

[Bald Rick]

£13+ million to the south and south-west, and £500,000 to places further north. I am sure that the ‘red wall’ seats will be overjoyed by this evidence of levelling up.

That’s comparing apples with poppy seeds.

The £13m announced is for serious development funding; they are three RYR projects that have spent “their” £50k from the first round of funding announced last year, spent it wisely, and have each come up with a viable business case to progress the scheme to the next stage.

The £650k announced is for 13 projects now about to do their first initial business case.

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

Disappointed that places like Amlwych are considered over Fleetwood, Stocksbridge, etc. The government needs to invest more in rail lines in England rather than Wales all the time.

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

Disappointed that places like Amlwych are considered over Fleetwood, Stocksbridge, etc. The government needs to invest more in rail lines in England rather than Wales all the time.

Fleetwood has been awarded funding and so has stocksbridge

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Fleetwood has been awarded funding

Wow has it? Thanks if it has that really is great news.

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

Wow has it? Thanks if it has that really is great news.

yes it was awarded funding before the rounds began. £100k was awarded to a feasibility study back in January 2020

 

[camflyer]

Weardale??? Surely not, there's sweet f all up there unless you want a tunnel under the Pennines to meet the settle-carlisle line

It's a strange one. Even though I'm originally from the area, it wouldn't be anywhere near the top of my list of lines to reopen.

It's clearly more of a a political decision than an economic one given the local parliamentary constituencies. It's a relatively cheap way of getting some good headlines in the area.

 

[S&CLER]

Where is Gadbrook Park? I can't find it on the 1:25,000 map of the Middlewich area.

 

[Snow1964]

In my area seem to have got 2 feasibility studies for station reopening

Corsham, a town which has grown hugely (especially if include a number of surrounding small towns and villages), and for many, lot easier to get to than Bath or Chippenham stations which are in traffic congested areas. Oddly initial drawings seem to include huge footbridges with lifts, car parks on site of old stone yard (which served the Bath stone quarries), but short platforms. There is an artists impression in local newspaper link

MP welcomes £50,000 grant towards station

THE Government has awarded £50,000 towards feasibility studies for a new Corsham railway station.

www.gazetteandherald.co.uk

Stonehouse (Bristol Road), the old Midland Railway site, which was also junction for Nailsworth branch. (The other station is on former GW Golden Valley line). There has been huge developments in the area (north of Yate) so is seen as a big commuter railhead to Bristol. Area even has the upcoming football team Forest Green Rovers. Clearly as it was formally a junction with lots of space, it would not be that hard to have a third platform with middle one available for local terminating trains from Bristol (so as not to block lines)

Both are sensible, effectively mini parkway stations for the areas around (and thus serving considerably more than the immediate town). Both are clearly aimed at Bristol commuting.

Although both sites have lost their platforms, I do not know if they were completely removed, or if the platform edge foundations still exist which might make it easier to rebuild.

 

[javelin]

Where is Gadbrook Park? I can't find it on the 1:25,000 map of the Middlewich area.

Could be wrong, but I think this might refer to a new station on the Middlewich line at Rudheath, southeast of Northwich. There is a 'Gad Brook' area here, and Gadbrook Park road close to the line.

 

[Bald Rick]

In my area seem to have got 2 feasibility studies for station reopening

Corsham, a town which has grown hugely (especially if include a number of surrounding small towns and villages), and for many, lot easier to get to than Bath or Chippenham stations which are in traffic congested areas. Oddly initial drawings seem to include huge footbridges with lifts, car parks on site of old stone yard (which served the Bath stone quarries), but short platforms. There is an artists impression in local newspaper link

MP welcomes £50,000 grant towards station

THE Government has awarded £50,000 towards feasibility studies for a new Corsham railway station.

www.gazetteandherald.co.uk

Stonehouse (Bristol Road), the old Midland Railway site, which was also junction for Nailsworth branch. (The other station is on former GW Golden Valley line). There has been huge developments in the area (north of Yate) so is seen as a big commuter railhead to Bristol. Area even has the upcoming football team Forest Green Rovers. Clearly as it was formally a junction with lots of space, it would not be that hard to have a third platform with middle one available for local terminating trains from Bristol (so as not to block lines)

Both are sensible, effectively mini parkway stations for the areas around (and thus serving considerably more than the immediate town). Both are clearly aimed at Bristol commuting.

Although both sites have lost their platforms, I do not know if they were completely removed, or if the platform edge foundations still exist which might make it easier to rebuild.

The issue for both of these is going to be providing a useful service to them. Particularly Corsham.

 

[Darandio]

In terms of Weardale i'm sure it's all part of the plan to extend services from Darlington to take advantage of the new Rail Heritage Quarter. When this was first talked about the existing line was considered to be in a fairly decent condition and heritage services were running on it, even more recently stock movements were being made to/from Wolsingham. Then an inspection was done and the line and many structures were found to be in a severe state of disrepair, the line needs a lot more money throwing at it than previously thought. I'm not sure where it will go from here.