Restoring Your Railway: Successful Bids
As of the 26th of November, this is the list of successful bids, which are detailed on this page of the Government web site.
To Reinstate The Passing Loop Between St Albans Abbey And Watford Junction (Abbey Line)
See Reinstatement Of The Abbey Line Between St Albans Abbey And Watford Junction
To Re-open The Meir station between Stoke-On-Trent And North Staffordshire
See Reopening Meir Railway Station Between Stoke-On-Trent And North Staffordshire
To Reintroduce Passenger Services On The Leicester To Burton (Ivanhoe) Line
See Reinstatement Of The Ivanhoe Line
Reopened Lines And New Passenger Services, Melton Mowbray – Nottingham
Reopened Lines And New Passenger Services, Alfreton – Ashfield (Maid Marian Line)
See Beeching Reversal – Reconnecting Ashfield Communities Through The Maid Marian Line
Reopened Lines And New Passenger Services, Stratford Upon Avon – Honeybourne – Worcester/Oxford
Reopened Lines And New Passenger Services, Consett-Newcastle
See Beeching Reversal – Consett-Newcastle Connection
New Station At Ferryhill, Ferryhill – Stockton-on-Tees
See Beeching Reversal – Ferryhill Station Reopening
To Reinstate The Bury-Heywood-Rochdale Lines
See Reinstatement Of The Bury-Heywood-Rochdale Lines
To Reintroduce Passenger Services Between Clitheroe and Hellifield And Explore Freight Options
See Reinstatement Of The Clitheroe To Hellifield Railway Line
Enhanced Existing Passenger Services, Preston – Blackpool South
See Beeching Reversal – South Fylde Line Passing Loop
Reopened lines And New Passenger Services, Bolton-Radcliffe / Bolton-Bury
See Beeching Reversal – Reinstatement of Bolton-Radcliffe / Bolton – Bury
New Station At Beeston Castle And Tarporley, Crewe – Chester
See Beeching Reversal – Reinstating Beeston Castle And Tarporley Station
To reinstate Branch Lines On The Isle of Wight
See Reinstatement Of Branch Lines On The Isle Of Wight
To Introduce Passenger Services On The Totton-Fawley (Waterside) Line
See Special Train Offers A Strong Case For Reopening Fawley Line
To Re-open Of Wellington and Cullompton Stations
See Reopening Of Wellington and Cullompton Stations
To Reinstate Rail Access To Devizes Via A New Station At Lydeway
See Reinstatement Of Rail Access To Devizes Via A New Station At Lydeway
New Station At St Anne’s Park, Bristol Temple Meads – Bath Spa
See Beeching Reversal – St Anne’s Park Station
Enhanced Existing Passenger Services, Truro – Falmouth
New Station At Langport And Somerton, Castle Cary – Taunton
Reopened Lines And New Passenger Services, Kemble – Cirencester
See Beeching Reversal – Cirencester Community Railway
Reopened Lines And New Passenger Services, Wareham – Swanage
See A Visit To The Swanage Railway
To Reintroduce Passenger Services On The Barrow Hill Line Between Sheffield And Chesterfield
See Reinstatement Of The Barrow Hill Line Between Sheffield And Chesterfield
Reopened Lines And New Passenger Services, Gainsborough – Barton
See Beeching Reversal – Restoring A South Humber Link
New Station At Waverley, Sheffield – Chesterfield
See Beeching Reversal – A New Station At Waverley In Sheffield
Summarising The Bids
In total, there are twenty-five successful bids.
Stations
There are nine possible new or rebuilt station projects.
- Beeston Castle And Tarporley – Rebuilt – Closed in 1966
- Cullompton – Rebuilding – Closed in 1964
- Ferryhill – Rebuilding – Closed in 1967
- Langport And Somerton – Rebuilt – Closed in 1964
- Lydeway – New
- Meir – Rebuilt – Closed in 1966
- St Anne’s Park – Rebuilt – Closed in 1970
- Waverley – New
- Wellington– Rebuilt – Closed in 1964
Note.
- Only two are in new locations.
- None seem to be challenging sites and some seem to have the remains of previous stations.
- I am fairly sure, that all stations are on double-track railways.
- Cullompton and Wellington stations could be a single project.
These are typical costs from the last few years for typical two platform stations on a double-track railway.
- Horden – £10.5 million
- Kenilworth – £11.3 million
- Lea Bridge – £5.6 million
- Maghull North – £13 million
- Robroyston – £14 million
- Warrington West – £20.5 million
Meridian Water, which was a large four-track station cost £46 million.
Line Reopenings
There are thirteen lines that could be reopened for passenger services.
- Barrow Hill Line
- Bolton-Radcliffe / Bolton-Bury
- Bury-Heywood-Rochdale Lines
- Consett-Newcastle
- Gainsborough – Barton
- Isle of Wight Branch Lines
- Ivanhoe Line
- Kemble – Cirencester
- Maid Marian Line
- Melton Mowbray – Nottingham
- Stratford Upon Avon – Honeybourne – Worcester/Oxford
- Wareham – Swanage
- Waterside Line
Note.
- Several of the tracks are already in place and used for freight.
- Full electrification is not involved in any proposed scheme.
- Few, if any bridges and no tunnels are needed.
- Some will share lines with well-run heritage railways.
There will probably be some new stations. As examples, I would suggest Cirencester, Consett and intermediate stations on the Ivanhoe Line.
Enhanced Passenger Services
There are four bids, to enhance passenger services.
- Abbey Line
- Clitheroe and Hellifield
- Preston and Blackpool South
- Truro – Falmouth
Note.
- Small amounts of new infrastructure may be needed.
- Some extra trains may be needed.
None should be challenging.
Conclusion
The successful bids are a sensible collection of ones to progress.
None are outrageously difficult.
DfT have just published the list of Round 3 bids https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/969125/restoring-your-railway-all-bids.csv/preview A wide range. It’ll be interesting to see which ones are selected.
Comment by Peter Robins | March 16, 2021 |
and they’ve now released the list of 13 proposals that have been awarded funding – some interesting ones in there https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1028949/restoring-your-railway-successful-bids.csv/preview
Comment by Peter Robins | October 27, 2021 |