Reopening lost lines

The fascinating article about lost railway lines in the UK ( RAIL 823) set me thinking about how useful it would be to extend Pip Dunn’s personal selection to a regularly (maybe annual?) updated schedule of lost lines that could be reopened.

Could a more comprehensive table be drawn up by RAIL of the 20 or 30 most likely lines - not just individual stations or short links - that are in various stages of being considered for reopening? This table could include details such as:

Approximate location of lost line to be reopened.

Brief description of stations to be reopened, length of single and/or double track involved, significant engineering obstacles to be overcome.

Whether (and when) Network Rail has initiated any GRIP process for reopening this line.

What (if any) reliable and recent cost estimate is available, or if a Benefit: Cost Ratio (BCR) has been projected for reopening this line.

Which (if any) active local campaign group is currently campaigning for reopening this line.

Whether there is any evident political support - local or national - for reopening this line.

When the most likely outcome for reopening might be: within the next five years; after about five but before the next ten years; after about ten but before the next 20 years; dead - or unlikely to be reopened within 20 years.

The last item (the most likely outcome) could alternatively be related to Network Rail’s Control Periods. Even if this might potentially be a more contentious aspect of such a table, at least it would be based on some objective evidence from the other columns of the table.

Such a table could be updated on a regular annual basis (like Barry Doe’s annual Rail Timetable analysis). This would have the advantage of focusing attention on which lost lines might be reopened first, and where efforts need to be concentrated to encourage reopening to happen. Stuart Anderson, Cambridge