Coleshill - Nuneaton; straighten line on new formation

[option]

It's been mentioned in another thread, now that Daw Mill colliery has closed, there is the opportunity to considerably straighten the Coleshill-Nuneaton route.

A straight line from Shustoke Reservoir to Galley Common would cut ~2km from the distance, & the tunnel at Ansley. (Cuts ~1minute at 70mph)
It would also be able to be built to the newer W12 gauge, or bigger. Hams Hall is only 2km away from the Shustoke end, with 1 accommodation bridge & Station Rd bridge between them.
Build it ready for 3-4 tracking & electrification.

As it would be a new formation, it wouldn't have the expense of working on the existing line until connecting the ends.
There could also be some recovery of costs from selling the old formation.

 

[The Planner]

Have you considered why it went that way to start with? Have a look at an Ordnance survey map and look at the contours of the land. How much of a tunnel or earth shifting would your straight route require (answer, a massive amount)? It doesn't need 3 or 4 tracking either, it has bags of capacity.

 

[Meerkat]

How disruptive are the reserve curves through Whitacre junction - Worth straightening it out as part of electrifying the area?
Full project for me would be to make it a triangle so Birch Coppice traffic could come in from Nuneaton.
Oh and electrify to Tamworth sending the locals this way to a third platform for reversing at Tamworth high level.

 

[Ken H]

Arley Tunnel is a maintenance nightmare. But the area is a mining area, and we know how difficult that makes engineering.

 

[The Planner]

How disruptive are the reserve curves through Whitacre junction - Worth straightening it out as part of electrifying the area?
Full project for me would be to make it a triangle so Birch Coppice traffic could come in from Nuneaton.
Oh and electrify to Tamworth sending the locals this way to a third platform for reversing at Tamworth high level.

All plans that have made it just past the fag packet stage in the past. Tamworth probably the most advanced of those but still unlikely. Arley isnt as bad as people make out.