Reopenings - the positive narrative the railway industry needs !

[yorksrob]

There's no doubt that the railway industry has its issues.

HS2 is in the news for all the wrong reasons. Fares remain high. The hangover from the Great Western electrification affects investment to this day

It seems to me that the railway needs a good positive narrative that can be told to the public and policy makers alike.

Casting my eyes around - what has the railway done in the last few years that can rightly be portrayed as unquestionably positive, to drive the agenda that the railway is great for people and the nation alike ?

Reflecting on the tenth anniversary of the Borders line reopening provides the answer - re-openings.

Borders, Blythe, Okehampton, Ebbw Vale... These reopenings have all been hugely successful, supporting people and communities across the Nation.

Yet when it comes to this tremendous success story, which the industry should be shouting from the rooftops, the industry hides its light under a bushall.

We have a good collection of case studies now across the Kingdom. Every time there is a negative story, a difficult interview, an unhappy select committee, the great and good of the industry should be highlighting these successes to illustrate both how useful the railway is and what the industry can achieve.

Re-openings are the railway industries success story and the way forward.

Shout it out proud.

 

[brad465]

The Elizabeth Line has to be up there: despite its own cost and delay spiralling, it's been a huge success story in increasing passenger use of the railway. It reportedly is responsible for 1 in 7 of all railway journeys in the UK, delivering an economic boost more than double its final construction cost.

 

[yorksrob]

The Elizabeth Line has to be up there: despite its own cost and delay spiralling, it's been a huge success story in increasing passenger use of the railway. It reportedly is responsible for 1 in 7 of all railway journeys in the UK, delivering an economic boost more than double its final construction cost.

Yes, in spite of its issues, the success of the Elizabeth line is undeniable. Its success should be lauded.

That said the cost of it was huge and would be difficult to replicate elsewhere, so I think the re-openings have a good story to tell in terms of getting stuff done on more limited budgets.

 

[Farigiraf]

Crossrail is probably the most successful new rail line opening in recent history, and it shows that megaprojects do pay off in the long run.

Many have forgotten by now, but in the last few years before opening, there were calls to cancel / give up amidst cost overruns and delays (and the naming fiasco).
Yet it's now the busiest line in the country - much of this usage isn't even abstracted from other lines, it's pure growth.

What would help the public image of such rail projects would be to refrain from calling them 'reopenings' as if we're trying to relive some glory days (that never really existed). As much as the Beeching cuts and similar closures seem like national tragedies, they're a part of rail history, not the future of rail, so they're best left as cautionary tales instead of guidebooks showing which closed lines to reopen next.

Opening a new line, whether it's a megaproject like HS2 or Crossrail, or a line that vaguely follows an old regional alignment, is a sign of success from an engineering, social and economic perspective (and environmental if there's enough modal shift) so whether it's a 'reopening' or not, it's equally impressive. Borders/Northumberland/Dartmoor lines did use disused railways, but much of the project involved tackling 21st century problems with 21st century solutions, building a railway fit for the future instead of restoring it to the decaying state it was at in the 60s.

The Elizabeth Line has to be up there: despite its own cost and delay spiralling, it's been a huge success story in increasing passenger use of the railway. It reportedly is responsible for 1 in 7 of all railway journeys in the UK, delivering an economic boost more than double its final construction cost.

You beat me to it - but that's exactly it.

 

[geordieblue]

Yes, in spite of its issues, the success of the Elizabeth line is undeniable. Its success should be lauded.

That said the cost of it was huge and would be difficult to replicate elsewhere, so I think the re-openings have a good story to tell in terms of getting stuff done on more limited budgets.

Cost for construction per passenger somewhat lower for the Elizabeth Line though.

Very rough calculations based off rough figures obtained from a quick Google…

Elizabeth line: 250m annual passengers, £20bn cost to build = £8m for every 1m passengers

Ashington: 1m annual passengers, £350m to build = £350m for every 1m passengers

Obviously there are more stations to come on stream in Ashington and Blyth (not Blythe!) but you get my point.

 

[yorksrob]

Crossrail is probably the most successful new rail line opening in recent history, and it shows that megaprojects do pay off in the long run.

Many have forgotten by now, but in the last few years before opening, there were calls to cancel / give up amidst cost overruns and delays (and the naming fiasco).
Yet it's now the busiest line in the country - much of this usage isn't even abstracted from other lines, it's pure growth.

What would help the public image of such rail projects would be to refrain from calling them 'reopenings' as if we're trying to relive some glory days (that never really existed). As much as Beeching etc seem like national tragedies, they're a part of rail history, not the future of rail. Opening a new line, whether it's a megaproject like HS2 or Crossrail, or a line that vaguely follows an old regional alignment, is a sign of success from an engineering, social or economic perspective so whether it's a 'reopening' or not, it's equally impressive.


You beat me to it - but that's exactly it.

I very much agree with your point regarding the Elizabeth line. It was embroiled in difficulty for some time but eventually came good. A lesson for HS2 perhaps ?

I do disagree with your point about the terminology of "reopenings". From a purely analytical point of view, the term does have some baggage, however one shouldn't dismiss the heart felt emotional anger that communities cut off from the network have felt.

I think that talking of "reopenings" helps to make that emotional connection to the community that was so poorly served in the past and helps to promote the railway routes concerned.

 

[ox_chap]

Needs a blockbuster opening. Uckfield to Lewes maybe?. Or Colne to Skipton. Both would be interesting because they could end up used by through journeys, not just local. And over my way, can’t wait for Oxford to Milton Keynes to start.

 

[yorksrob]

Cost for construction per passenger somewhat lower for the Elizabeth Line though.

Very rough calculations based off rough figures obtained from a quick Google…

Elizabeth line: 250m annual passengers, £20bn cost to build = £8m for every 1m passengers

Ashington: 1m annual passengers, £350m to build = £350m for every 1m passengers

Obviously there are more stations to come on stream in Ashington and Blyth (not Blythe!) but you get my point.

Apologies for my mis-spelling !

I must admit, the costs per passenger are illuminating. However I don't think £350 per passenger for the Blyth reopening is bad - particularly as the passenger will re-appear over many years !

I think that the Elizabeth line does need to be promoted as the success that it is. It possibly doesn't have as much resonance to people outside of the South East, which is why the reopenings need to be shouted about in their own right.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Jun 2026 ==

Needs a blockbuster opening. Uckfield to Lewes maybe?. Or Colne to Skipton. Both would be interesting because they could end up used by through journeys, not just local. And over my way, can’t wait for Oxford to Milton Keynes to start.

Yes, absolutely - I do think these successful reopenings should beget more reopenings. We have Portishead on its way, and as you say, EW rail will be a huge improvement when it starts.

 

[Farigiraf]

A lesson for HS2 perhaps ?

HS2 will face challenges that the EL hasn't faced - namely the insane descoping that's happened over the years. The EL could serve its purpose well from day 1, whereas there'll be a few years (or decades, but hopefully not) where HS2 will remain a bit of a white elephant from an operational perspective. Let's hope though that once it's up and running, it'll show the need for more of it.

I do disagree with your point about the terminology of "reopenings". From a purely analytical point of view, the term does have some baggage, however one shouldn't dismiss the heart felt emotional anger that communities cut off from the network have felt.

I think that talking of "reopenings" helps to make that emotional connection to the community that was so poorly served in the past and helps to promote the railway routes concerned.

I understand the sentiment, but much of that anger and regret is fading as the years pass. Someone who used a railway that closed in the Beeching cuts is unlikely to be using the same railway 60 years later, let alone the 70-80 years that'll have passed by the time some of the existing proposals get the funding they need.

People who use reopened railways are primarily using it as a utility, a way to get from A to B. Sure, the Borders railway or Northumberland line restored a lot of pride to relatively cut-off places, but that pride shouldn't be because they got back something that was taken away, it should be because that place is now a more desirable place to live in, work in or visit as a tourist.
To convince those at the helm, who are far too often highly hesitant to invest in major infrastructure, let alone backwater railways, that a reopening deserves the money, these are the most effective arguments in practice, not necessarily emotional attachment to the reopening*.

* with some exceptions. Some edge cases or lower priority projects (such as Reston) do receive priority purely because of strong support due to the pride that a rail connection brings, even if the rail connection itself is not particularly useful. But this isn't really the best road to go down.

 

[yorksrob]

HS2 will face challenges that the EL hasn't faced - namely the insane descoping that's happened over the years. The EL could serve its purpose well from day 1, whereas there'll be a few years (or decades, but hopefully not) where HS2 will remain a bit of a white elephant from an operational perspective. Let's hope though that once it's up and running, it'll show the need for more of it.


I understand the sentiment, but much of that anger and regret is fading as the years pass. Someone who used a railway that closed in the Beeching cuts is unlikely to be using the same railway 60 years later, let alone the 70-80 years that'll have passed by the time some of the existing proposals get the funding they need.

People who use reopened railways are primarily using it as a utility, a way to get from A to B. Sure, the Borders railway or Northumberland line restored a lot of pride to relatively cut-off places, but that pride shouldn't be because they got back something that was taken away, it should be because that place is now a more desirable place to live in, work in or visit as a tourist.
To convince those at the helm, who are far too often highly hesitant to invest in major infrastructure, let alone backwater railways, that a reopening deserves the money, these are the most effective arguments in practice, not necessarily emotional attachment to the reopening*.

* with some exceptions. Some edge cases or lower priority projects (such as Reston) do receive priority purely because of strong support due to the pride that a rail connection brings, even if the rail connection itself is not particularly useful. But this isn't really the best road to go down.

Yes, I agree about HS2. Hopefully a more conventional TGV type line will take it to Manchester/Liverpool eventually.

Of course, what you say for the Elizabeth line is true for the re-openings as well. They've been proving their worth from day one (even though stations on some of them may have arrived later).

I think it's a cultural issue in some respects. People may not have had the chance to travel on the line, but the anger at that loss of facilities may have crossed generations.

Reston is perhaps a slightly unfair example - hasn't it struggled due to the train services that were supposed to serve it not arriving, rather than a lack of demand.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

The Elizabeth Line has to be up there: despite its own cost and delay spiralling, it's been a huge success story in increasing passenger use of the railway. It reportedly is responsible for 1 in 7 of all railway journeys in the UK, delivering an economic boost more than double its final construction cost.

Yes, in spite of its issues, the success of the Elizabeth line is undeniable. Its success should be lauded.
That said the cost of it was huge and would be difficult to replicate elsewhere, so I think the re-openings have a good story to tell in terms of getting stuff done on more limited budgets.

I have to agree. The Elizabeth Line is a magnificent piece of infrastructure and now that it is there I could not imagine it not being there. It makes London and South East even more attractive but that creates a vicious cycle. We need a Northern or elsewhere success story.

I will add Scotland as a whole has been a success story for railways.

 

[yorksrob]

We need a Northern or elsewhere success story.

Which brings me back to my original point - the reopenings are that success story !

 

[Gloster]

But, with the partial exception of the Elizabeth Line, all these reopenings are effectively local news. If somebody in Norwich reads about the reopening of the Okehampton line, they are unlikely to get beyond the first sentence before they move on to something else and forget about it entirely. The same for someone in Salisbury for the line to Blyth, and so on. Only something that covers a large area is going to get a lot of attention.

 

[yorksrob]

But, with the partial exception of the Elizabeth Line, all these reopenings are effectively local news. If somebody in Norwich reads about the reopening of the Okehampton line, they are unlikely to get beyond the first sentence before they move on to something else and forget about it entirely. The same for someone in Salisbury for the line to Blyth, and so on. Only something that covers a large area is going to get a lot of attention.

In a way, you're right. That they are "local news" is a problem, which is why there should be a greater attempt to link them and say "these reopenings have been delivered and been successful all over the country. The railway delivers real benefits for communities"

GBR will presumably have a comms section. This is where they should start.

 

[marshlinker]

Needs a blockbuster opening. Uckfield to Lewes maybe?. Or Colne to Skipton. Both would be interesting because they could end up used by through journeys, not just local. And over my way, can’t wait for Oxford to Milton Keynes to start.

Uckfield to Lewes wouldn't be a blockbuster reopening. The primary reason why its unaffordable even in its basic form is the ORR ban on new level crossings.
Unless you are looking at massive upgrades on the existing Windmill Bridge Junction to Uckfield section the best you could hope for in terms of through journeys is the hourly all stations from Oxted service being extended to somewhere like Newhaven Marine Sidings. The journeytimes associated with that are not really going to generate significant through traffic.

 

[LittleRedTrain]

Sadly, I think the current fiasco of East West Rail has become a bit of a poison pill when it comes to selling re-openings.

I think all parties involved don't realise how much damage it's doing to the public perceptions of the railways in general, because they're too wrapped up in their own short-term self-interest.
Why would anyone want to see billions of pounds of taxpayers money spent on new lines, only for them to sit unused while the TOC, Union and DfT all argue over how it's going to be operated!

 

[brad465]

But, with the partial exception of the Elizabeth Line, all these reopenings are effectively local news. If somebody in Norwich reads about the reopening of the Okehampton line, they are unlikely to get beyond the first sentence before they move on to something else and forget about it entirely. The same for someone in Salisbury for the line to Blyth, and so on. Only something that covers a large area is going to get a lot of attention.

The Trans-Pennine upgrade would be blockbuster, given the many northern cities it is connecting. However, the nature of the job means it's a slow burner of incremental improvements, so unless there is a big bang increase in new services and one massive journey time reduction both implemented in the same timetable change, this won't really gain much publicity.

 

[yorksrob]

Uckfield to Lewes wouldn't be a blockbuster reopening. The primary reason why its unaffordable even in its basic form is the ORR ban on new level crossings.
Unless you are looking at massive upgrades on the existing Windmill Bridge Junction to Uckfield section the best you could hope for in terms of through journeys is the hourly all stations from Oxted service being extended to somewhere like Newhaven Marine Sidings. The journeytimes associated with that are not really going to generate significant through traffic.

Any such extension should really take trains through to Brighton though. Platform 9 is still there, although would need some reconditioning.

As with costs, I'd be more inclined to clip ORR's wings.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Jun 2026 ==

Sadly, I think the current fiasco of East West Rail has become a bit of a poison pill when it comes to selling re-openings.

I think all parties involved don't realise how much damage it's doing to the public perceptions of the railways in general, because they're too wrapped up in their own short-term self-interest.
Why would anyone want to see billions of pounds of taxpayers money spent on new lines, only for them to sit unused while the TOC, Union and DfT all argue over how it's going to be operated!

It is q problem, but that is more reason to trumpet the several re-openings that have taken place.

 

[The Planner]

Keeping what we have going. There are immense amounts of work to renew what we have in terms of track, signalling, structures etc, but as you can't see the effects of that work no one sees it as important.

 

[Egg Centric]

I challenge the premise that the rail industry particularly needs "good news". What it needs is either ruthless cost/social effectiveness (which will end up with results very few of us will want) or a huge deal of "soft support" by inculcating in as many people as possible a sort of "soft enthusiasm". Basically (assuming that we're all on board with the basic idea of as much rail as possible - I waver between this and giving up and going for automous EVs everywhere) we need railways to be treated irrationally positively.

With the current level of fondness for rail amongst enough of the public, this can be acheived and kept self perpetuating over decades quite cheaply by things such as subsidising heritage rail, museums, etc. The key thing is to keep an institutional enthusiasm so that we can direct funds appropriately (e.g. today I was at Hopetown Darlington which is massively subsidised by e.g. the national lottery etc) and that means never letting up. It's also important to somehow get first/second generation immigrants extra keen as railway enthusiasm is much higher amongst the UK populace than almost anywhere else.

It does worry me a bit that modern traction is becoming so efficient and lacking as much soul. Fine for the current generation of EMUs but they may paradoxically be their descendants' undoing.

 

[SynthD]

That said the cost of it was huge and would be difficult to replicate elsewhere, so I think the re-openings have a good story to tell in terms of getting stuff done on more limited budgets.

If reasons to exclude projects come into it, then no surprise that nothing is lauded.

I would like to see more said about the Borders success. That may well be a better example than the Northumberland line (more work to do), Okehampton (Interchange station on its way). However, celebrate what they are, not what more could be done beyond the official projects. The public want finished infrastructure not more building sites, or weekend closures. Both of those examples are due their headlines soon.

Considering all the examples given (plus tube stations), is it just not rare enough news?

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

I have to agree. The Elizabeth Line is a magnificent piece of infrastructure and now that it is there I could not imagine it not being there. It makes London and South East even more attractive but that creates a vicious cycle. We need a Northern or elsewhere success story.

I will add Scotland as a whole has been a success story for railways.

For the money HS2 has taken we could have built S Bahn equivalents across at least 3 or 4 of our major Northern cities which would have had the same impact on the local economies that the Elizabeth line has had and then generated the growth to drive a higher speed interconnecting network

 

[Farigiraf]

For the money HS2 has taken we could have built S Bahn equivalents across at least 3 or 4 of our major Northern cities which would have had the same impact on the local economies that the Elizabeth line has had and then generated the growth to drive a higher speed interconnecting network

Maybe.
But remind me of how much of the £36 billion allocated to 'Network North' after phase 2 cancellation actually ended up in a Network North project?

 

[Recessio]

London Overground, particularly how the initial phase transformed the public perception of the former East London Line and Silverlink services, but also in general has (quite literally) put areas of London on the map. The East London Line Extension was also ahead of time and on budget, seemingly a rarity in modern railway construction.

 

[marshlinker]

Any such extension should really take trains through to Brighton though. Platform 9 is still there, although would need some reconditioning.

As with costs, I'd be more inclined to clip ORR's wings.

A quick perusal of Google Maps satellite view will show why the only practical entry in to Lewes is via the original Hamsey Loop on to the line from Victoria. That limits any through destination to either the Seaford or Eastbourne lines. Reversing out of the station to obtain the Brighton line isn't practical through a walking pace junction with 6 tph in each direction.
A multi level junction in Lewes to take Uckfield trains to Falmer is just pure fantasy.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

London Overground, particularly how the initial phase transformed the public perception of the former East London Line and Silverlink services, but also in general has (quite literally) put areas of London on the map. The East London Line Extension was also ahead of time and on budget, seemingly a rarity in modern railway construction.

I sorely remember how run down and unapproachable the NLL & ELL were in the 1980s yet a decent upgrading costing 100's millions not 10's billions were transformative. Same should have been done across our Northern cities

 

[ox_chap]

A quick perusal of Google Maps satellite view will show why the only practical entry in to Lewes is via the original Hamsey Loop on to the line from Victoria. That limits any through destination to either the Seaford or Eastbourne lines. Reversing out of the station to obtain the Brighton line isn't practical through a walking pace junction with 6 tph in each direction.
A multi level junction in Lewes to take Uckfield trains to Falmer is just pure fantasy.

Suppose for a moment there was an hourly Seaford to London via Uckfield service. And suppose further it became a testbed for battery-electric trains (charging at both ends) - and if the technology was designed in the UK. Might recover the reopening costs through exporting such technology…

 

[marshlinker]

Suppose for a moment there was an hourly Seaford to London via Uckfield service. And suppose further it became a testbed for battery-electric trains (charging at both ends) - and if the technology was designed in the UK. Might recover the reopening costs through exporting such technology…

I don't think you'd want to go to Seaford because you'd have to fit in between the Brighton services over the single line from Newhaven Harbour.
Don't Merseyrail already operate a fleet of DC/battery units from Stadler?

 

[Recessio]

I sorely remember how run down and unapproachable the NLL & ELL were in the 1980s yet a decent upgrading costing 100's millions not 10's billions were transformative. Same should have been done across our Northern cities

LRT/TfL had had designs on it for years; I think the need to improve transport for the Olympics was what finally helped get approval and funding. I completely agree re other cities ("build it and they will come") could benefit from re-openings of old lines too, hopefully one day

 

[geordieblue]

Apologies for my mis-spelling !

I must admit, the costs per passenger are illuminating. However I don't think £350 per passenger for the Blyth reopening is bad - particularly as the passenger will re-appear over many years !

I think that the Elizabeth line does need to be promoted as the success that it is. It possibly doesn't have as much resonance to people outside of the South East, which is why the reopenings need to be shouted about in their own right.

Agreed - I wasn’t trying to do down the Northumberland line, it’s genuinely been transformative for the area and will become more useful as it’s properly integrated to the Metro when Northumberland Park opens. My point was more that total cost isn’t always the best metric of how successful a new line is when the rate of return may have been higher for a more expensive project. As you say the Elizabeth Line has been a proper success and cases like that (real investment in public transport, with a tangible national impact) should be celebrated.