Regional News

WESTERN

Chilcompton: A new group aims to rebuild the former Somerset & Dorset main line station and relay three miles of the former Bath- Bournemouth main line to Binegar. The Down platform is still in place, and the other side has foundations that include the main building, signal box and water crane.

Heathfield: Teignbridge Council has asked for the mothballed freight line to be protected from total closure, because of its importance in an area where 12,400 new homes could be built over the next 20 years.

Portishead: A date for the start of MetroWest passenger services is now further away, following the Government’s rejection of a £116 million grant. The Local Enterprise Partnership has already committed £ 70m, and it is now up to North Somerset Council to try and source the rest.

Princes Risborough: The Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway’s platform at the main line station will open for business on August 15.

Topsham: The 1861 station building on the ExeterExmouth branch has been sold at auction for £404,000. Previously occupied by a charity, it may be converted into a three- bedroomed house.

Torrington: The Tarka Valley Railway has started work on a £100,000, quarter- mile extension towards Bideford on the former London & South Western Railway Barnstaple line. The trackbed is owned by Devon County Council.

EASTERN

Keighley: Celebrations were held at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway on June 29, to mark the 50th anniversary of the reopening of the five- mile former Midland Railway branch to Oxenhope as a privately run tourist passenger operation.

Leyburn: A £10,000 appeal has been launched at the Wensleydale Railway, to install the footbridge recovered from Brigg in 2016.

Slaggyford: The South Tynedale Railway’s latest extension, one mile north of Lintley, opened for passenger business on June 12.

York: Plans for the remodelled station entrance went on show during June. They confirm that some buildings and a road bridge will be removed to provide more space for pedestrians, cars and taxis.

MIDLANDS

Ironbridge: The Harworth Group, new owner of the 350- acre power station site, has been urged by the Marches Strategic Rail Group to retain the mothballed railway to serve the hundreds of new homes and businesses planned for the area.

Leicester: The one- mile 1832 Glenfield Tunnel, sold to the city council after it was closed by BR in the mid-1960s, has been reopened for guided tours led by Leicestershire Industrial History Society. The structure received £ 500,000 of repairs and reinforcement ten years ago, following fears of a partial collapse.

Matlock: Derby- Manchester express services were rerouted via Dore and Chinley 50 years ago on July 1, following the closure of the more direct Midland route via the Peak Forest and Buxton.

Nuneaton: A new northern entrance to the station is again being considered by Warwickshire Council, which is in discussions with Network Rail and West Midlands Trains.

Rugby: The prospects of a new Rugby Parkway station have diminished, following the withdrawal of a £4 million grant offer from Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, which wants to use the money for other projects. The money had been allocated on the basis of success in the Government’s New Stations Fund, which was not forthcoming.

Warwick: The Green Party is pressing for a new station on the Leamington- Coventry line to serve the university, instead of spending £150 million improving the A46 road.

NORTH WEST

Blackpool: Rails from the original Blackpool

tramway, dating back to the 1930s, have been uncovered during construction of the extension to North station.

Carlisle: Planning permission has been granted to reopen the River Eden viaduct ( part of the former Waverley line, and blocked off for a decade) as a footpath. The Railway Heritage Trust has offered £100,000 towards the £ 325,000 renovation work.

Lostock Hall: Extensive vegetation clearance has been taking place on the site of the former south Preston steam shed, ahead of its new use as a caravan storage park.

Manchester: Two 60- year- old waiting rooms have been removed from Piccadilly station to create more platform space.

Middleton: Rochdale Council’s proposals to extend Metrolink with a new park- and- ride facility in the town centre have won the support of Transport for Greater Manchester. The nearest railway station is currently Mills Hill, in the borough of Oldham. If approved, the new line would leave only Heywood and Leigh in the authority’s territory as secondary town centres without tram- style public transport.

SOUTHERN

Horsted Keynes: The Bluebell Railway has started the groundwork for its new two- storey Heritage Skills Centre. Erection of the steelwork is due to begin in July.

Nine Elms: This month marks 50 years since the closure for redevelopment of the vast railway yard, which was followed by the demolition of the 1838 London & Southampton Railway terminus ( designed by Sir William Tite). Closed after only ten years in favour of Waterloo, it had been damaged by wartime bombs. The site is now occupied by the New Covent Garden Market.

Poole: The friends group operating the troubled Poole Park Miniature Railway had its contract terminated on July 3 after only a year, because Poole Council said safety issues have not been resolved. The system, which was opened in 1949, was previously run for 13 years by a local businessman but has been shut since May.

Thanet Parkway: Kent County Council has submitted its planning application for the new £ 26 million, two- platform station, south of the old Manston airport site and just to the west of Cliffsend. It is unlikely to open before 2021.

ANGLIA

Beaulieu: There is optimism that the new £ 350 million station to serve a new development in Chelmsford could be built sooner than the currently predicted 2025 date. Network Rail is being pressed by local MP Vicky Ford to move faster on the project, which is three years behind schedule.

Lenwade: Almost 40 years after rail traffic from Norwich ceased to the Anglia Building Products concrete plant, the rail sidings are still embedded in the hard surface in the yard on the west side of the complex.

SCOTLAND

Kildonan: Closure of the Far North Line halt has been advocated, to save money and to shorten Inverness- Wick/ Thurso journeys by four minutes. It was the third least- used halt in Scotland last year, with just 76 passengers.

Newhaven: Four options have been presented for the Edinburgh Tram extension. The six- week public consultation exercise runs until the end of July.

Pitfodels: The 1894 Aberdeen- Ballater line station, now a four- bedroomed home, has been put on the market for £ 510,000. Restored in 2012, it retains many of its original Great North of Scotland Railway features, including the platforms, ticket office and waiting room.

Strathpeffer: The Strathpeffer Spa Railway Association has published a £ 2.5 million scheme to introduce a narrow gauge railway into the former Highland Railway station ( closed in March 1951), which is now a visitor centre. The equipment would come from Derbyshire.