ROTHER VALLEY APPLIES FOR TRANSPORT & WORKS ACT ORDER

The Rother Valley Railway has applied for the Transport & Works Act Order to reconnect the Kent & East Sussex Railway to Robertsbridge. Submitted to the Secretary of State for Transport on April 19, the application is for statutory powers to reinstate the missing two miles of line between the RVR’s railheads at Junction Road and Northbridge Street. These will include the construction of three level crossings, across Northbridge Street, the A21 Robertsbridge bypass, and the B2244 at Junction Road; as well as the crossing of a public bridleway at Salehurst Halt, and the reconstruction of the halt itself. It also covers the maintenance of the RVR’s existing two sections from Bodiam to Junction Road (¾ mile), and from Robertsbridge to Northbridge Street (½ mile). As reported in SR478, the RVR plans to rebuild approximately 400 yards of track to the west of Junction Road this autumn, on a section of trackbed that it acquired in 2017. Included in the TWAO is a passing loop on this section, although its final location is still to be decided in discussions with the KESR. Although it had been hoped to rebuild the line by 2020 (SR462), a timescale of up to four years is now anticipated before the first trains can run between Tenterden and Robertsbridge. Although it would normally take a year to decide whether to grant the TWAO, objectors to the scheme are expected to force a public inquiry, which will add a further year to the process. Among those in opposition to the plan are the owners of the remaining two sections of trackbed, who have so far refused to sell to the RVR, but negotiations are ongoing. However, once the TWAO is in force the RVR estimates that it will take two years to rebuild the line, as all of the necessary rails and sleepers have already been obtained. Thanks to generous benefactors, the RVR states, “all the assets and finance are in place to close the gap.”