Closed Lines That Could Re-Open.

[dave55uk]

I've just been reading some of this thread:- 'Beeching & beyond Lines that should have been kept open', and I was wondering which lines could realistically be re-opened.

I would assume that roads build on the old trackbed could be re-routed, and the odd building or two could be demolished and/or moved. However, significant building works would be a no-no.

Thoughts and ideas?

 

[TheGrew]

I would probably start with Totton-Hythe (maybe as far as Fawley) The track is still there as it is used by the Oil Refinery. I would suggest a Southampton Shuttle calling all stations between Southampton Central and Hythe. If a crossover could be installed at say Netley I would love this service to then run Netley-Hythe (again calling all Stations) which would make a proper little Southampton Metro and improve the service levels from Netley to Central. Traction would have to be diesel for the time being most probably 158s which SWT has already. So it would really just boil down to pathing, money for the new stations at Hythe and Marchwood and maybe for a crossover at Netley to allow trains to turn back.

What do people think?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I've just been reading some of this thread:- 'Beeching & beyond Lines that should have been kept open', and I was wondering which lines could realistically be re-opened.

I would assume that roads build on the old trackbed could be re-routed, and the odd building or two could be demolished and/or moved. However, significant building works would be a no-no.

Thoughts and ideas?

I imagine that some of the more viable reopenings might be those where the relaying of a relatively short length of track would open up opportunities for journeys beyond the limits of the actual construction work- I'm thinking here of things like the Todmorden curve (already underway-ish!), the Halton curve, either or both of the Burscough curves, and one i'd like to see- the Horbury curve to allow a semi-fast Huddersfield-Sheffield to run without reducing the frequency of stoppers on the Penistone line. The trackbed is pretty much complete and with some track still in situ (not that it'd be useable). A service running Huddersfield-Barnsley-Meadowhall-Sheffield would be very well used I think- though we'd have to find a couple of extra DMUs from somewhere...!

EDIT: Of course another problem would be who pays for it, as it would act largely as a link between PTE areas rather than within one. I understand that one reason the Todmorden work took so long to get the green light was the fact that it links Lancashire and Greater Manchester but is located within West Yorkshire.

 

[joeykins82]

I remember Hythe/Fawley being in ATOC's list of lines that should be considered for reopening. One option, if it were to be electrified, would be to extend the coastway services that terminate at Southampton on to Fawley rather than running it as a shuttle.

 

[swcovas]

There are probably many lines that could be reopened quite easily without "too much" effort from an infrastructure point of view. In Wales alone there are a number under discussion at the moment which could well see the light of day at some time in the future such as Ebbw Vale Town (almost certain), Abertillery, Beddau/Creigiau, Hirwaun and, one which has gone off the boil at the moment, Llangefni. There are obviously plenty of others throughout the UK......Tavistock springs to mind.

However there are also many, many more lines where the trackbed is relatively intact which could easily be rebuilt but are just not worth it. For example I am sure it would be easy to rebuild the Johnston to Neyland line in Pembrokeshire without any difficulty but I doubt that anyone is ever going to suggest it! More's the pity!!!

 

[Cheshire Rover]

Not strictly closed but the Halton Curve. Political support from locals MP's and councils in Cheshire and North Wales. Business support from Merseyrail and Ineos.
Proven business case of £1.90 return for every £1 spent.
http://www.runcornandwidnesweeklyne...r-every-1-spent-says-minister-55368-29870914/

 

[swt_passenger]

...and maybe for a crossover at Netley to allow trains to turn back.

What do people think?

I think you mightn't have noticed there's already a ground frame crossover at Netley for trains to turn back towards Southampton. Trains from the Fareham direction have also used it during engineering work within the last couple of years, but it's not a fully signalled move.

So providing a fully signalled turnback route towards Southampton (with trains terminating and restarting from the eastbound platform) would be relatively straightforward; it would just seem a bit odd as it would be on the opposite side to the main station building and ticket office.

 

[Tobbes]

However there are also many, many more lines where the trackbed is relatively intact which could easily be rebuilt but are just not worth it. For example I am sure it would be easy to rebuild the Johnston to Neyland line in Pembrokeshire without any difficulty but I doubt that anyone is ever going to suggest it! More's the pity!!!

Mid-Suffolk Light, anyone...

More seriously, I'd like to revisit the list in ATOC's "Connecting Communities" report of 2004, and add:

Sudbury - Haverhill - Cambridge;
Braintree - Stansted;
March - Spalding (largely for freight to keep it off the ECML south of Doncaster);
Aldeburgh - Leiston - Saxmundham
Leuchars - St Andrews;

In time when a certain busway doesn't work, Cambridge - St. Ives - Huntingdon!

Tobbes

 

[Yew]

Shirebrook - ollerton. The track is already there, and I understand it has a business case. Just building the stations. And persuading NR to give up their testing ground

 

[Shimbleshanks]

The Gaerwen-Amlwch branch, at least as far as Llangefni? Has the advantage that the track is still there, albeit very overgrown.

And of course, the Croxley Green branch in north London IS to reopen, or at least most of it.

 

[northwichcat]

The Middlewich branch (between Northwich and Sandbach) got a benefit:ratio of 5:1 in a feasibility report and is backed by MP Fiona Bruce:

http://fionabruce.mp/campaigns/index.php?id=1574746165063819508
http://www.mcrua.org.uk/pdf-fix.php...gers---final-report--july-2009_1248946031.pdf

 

[southern442]

I would probably start with Totton-Hythe (maybe as far as Fawley) The track is still there as it is used by the Oil Refinery. I would suggest a Southampton Shuttle calling all stations between Southampton Central and Hythe. If a crossover could be installed at say Netley I would love this service to then run Netley-Hythe (again calling all Stations) which would make a proper little Southampton Metro and improve the service levels from Netley to Central. Traction would have to be diesel for the time being most probably 158s which SWT has already. So it would really just boil down to pathing, money for the new stations at Hythe and Marchwood and maybe for a crossover at Netley to allow trains to turn back.

What do people think?

I think that is is a great idea, but I reckon that it should be electrified, and maybe a few more halts added to serve local towns. Southampton-Hythe would bring back platform 5 at Southampton, or for your "Southampton metro" since Fareham has 3 platforms, that could be a terminus.
I think a good idea would be to reopen the Weymouth tramway to make a Weymouth metro. All it would need is he installation of overhead wires and maybe put up a few more stops around the city. The tram stock would be ex-Manchester t68's so that the original platforms at the Harbour could be used.

 

[northwichcat]

The tram stock would be ex-Manchester t68's so that the original platforms at the Harbour could be used.

According to Metrolink the T68s are old and unreliable so need to be scrapped.

 

[Eagle]

All it would need is he installation of overhead wires and maybe put up a few more stops around the city.

Weymouth isn't a city, it's a smallish town.

And the "tramway" is about a quarter of a mile long, so unless you're going to extend it somewhere actually useful it's a non-starter (a rail station to ferry port shuttle won't get you very many passengers as there are only a few sailings per day).

 

[Liam_Hendry]

Been a few talks about Edinburgh-Perth trains going through Kinross, that's if the line reopens

 

[swcovas]

Weymouth isn't a city, it's a smallish town.

And the "tramway" is about a quarter of a mile long, so unless you're going to extend it somewhere actually useful it's a non-starter (a rail station to ferry port shuttle won't get you very many passengers as there are only a few sailings per day).

Yes I was a bit surprised that it's only about 50,000 though perhaps that's not so "smallish". I was asked recently what the largest "place" in UK never to have had league football. I came up with Weymouth as a possible but was told it was Weymouth's neighbour Poole.....unless anyone knows better?

 

[Tobbes]

Been a few talks about Edinburgh-Perth trains going through Kinross, that's if the line reopens

Would love to see this - the Glenfarg line should never have closed. Has a serious engineering study been done to work out feasibility and costs?

 

[Eagle]

I came up with Weymouth as a possible but was told it was Weymouth's neighbour Poole.....unless anyone knows better?

Poole sounds about right (population of about 140,000 for the borough).

 

[swt_passenger]

Weymouth isn't a city, it's a smallish town.

And the "tramway" is about a quarter of a mile long, so unless you're going to extend it somewhere actually useful it's a non-starter (a rail station to ferry port shuttle won't get you very many passengers as there are only a few sailings per day).

The layout is useless even for that regularly reheated proposal, (see prior to Olympics 2012) because it doesn't run from the station, but a few hundred yards before the platform ends. In the days of boat trains I think they called at the station then reversed out before continuing along the 'tramway'.

 

[southern442]

Weymouth isn't a city, it's a smallish town.

And the "tramway" is about a quarter of a mile long, so unless you're going to extend it somewhere actually useful it's a non-starter (a rail station to ferry port shuttle won't get you very many passengers as there are only a few sailings per day).

Maybe to Dorchester town center? Or alternatively you could use lightweight DMU'S on the line, and build a new platform at Dorchester South, or divert FGW trains to the line.

 

[route:oxford]

Would love to see this - the Glenfarg line should never have closed. Has a serious engineering study been done to work out feasibility and costs?

Couldn't Kinross also be connected to the Network via Tillicoultry, Alloa & Stirling?

Stirling-Alloa-Tillcoultry-Kinross-Dunfermline-Kincardine-Alloa-Stirling

A circular route that would connect so many communities.

 

[Eagle]

Maybe to Dorchester town center?

So you want to run trams on the mainline for 7 miles to serve a few hundred yards of street track?

 

[dcsprior]

I think there's scope for some reopening of suburban rail in Edinburgh - including:

• The South Suburban Line still exists (and has occasional passenger trains scheduled to run over it) but has no stations
• A line that would make a good spur from the new Borders Railway at Shawfair/Millerhill to Gilmerton and then Straiton/Loanhead - both right by the City Bypass, so would be ideal for park'n'ride stations. Not sure this line is still intact, but it has not been built on until you get past Loanhead, and still appears on maps as a railway.
• The former station at Balgreen would give a connection to the trams for passengers from Glasgow/Stirling in the same way as the planned station at Gogar will for passengers from Fife

 

[swt_passenger]

So you want to run trams on the mainline for 7 miles to serve a few hundred yards of street track?

See what happens? A chap starts a new thread hoping for realistic proposals to be discussed, and after only two pages utterly ridiculous fantasies appear...

Let's get real about Weymouth tramway, it isn't going to re-open.

 

[MCW]

even though the line still exists, albeit in a freight only format, I think the Leicester Burton line should be reopened to passengers, simly because it would cut down the amount of commuting an awful lot and sespite the rubbish Leicestershire county council say against the idea, it would bring a return and would make a profit. I also think it would be a feasible solution to cutting down the number of cars on the roads in the areas were the line serves.

The only main issue these days is refitting the Knighton Junction north curve, as this now has a cop shop built over part of that old perimeter

 

[Liam_Hendry]

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/lo...rth-bid-for-direct-line-to-edinburgh-1.105067

Here shows the details of the Glenfarg Line....

But what stock would you use for it ?? 150/153 or pacer hire ?? stick with the 158 ??

 

[Eagle]

Let's get real about Weymouth tramway, it isn't going to re-open.

Most of the people who come up with "proposals" regarding it are only doing so purely because it's there. If the tracks had been ripped out (like was supposed to happen years ago but BR/NR and the borough council have never been able to agree to terms) then I bet no one at all would be talking about rebuilding it.

 

[yorksrob]

Most of the people who come up with "proposals" regarding it are only doing so purely because it's there. If the tracks had been ripped out (like was supposed to happen years ago but BR/NR and the borough council have never been able to agree to terms) then I bet no one at all would be talking about rebuilding it.

Ah, but you can‘t compare a reopening proposal where the track is in situ to one where it Isn‘t. A reopening where rails exist is always going to have a better case to start off with than one which doesn‘t. Even if there might be more useful routes that have been built over. That‘s just the way the cookie crumbles .

 

[Eagle]

The problem with Weymouth (that people often overlook) is that the track would have to be relaid anyway if you wanted to have a regular service over it, because it's completely shot.

 

[southern442]

See what happens? A chap starts a new thread hoping for realistic proposals to be discussed, and after only two pages utterly ridiculous fantasies appear...

Let's get real about Weymouth tramway, it isn't going to re-open.

You are right.

Maybe though they could clean it up to run railtours on it?