The main advantage of re-opening the Stranraer - Dumfries line would be for freight. Freight could be moved from Stranraer (or Cairnryan) through Dumfries and directly to Newcastle creating a direct East-West link from NI to Europe. Passenger services could also use the route, including the re-instatement of the direct Stranraer - London services (including the sleeper) and also include significant improvements on the Stranraer - Ayr - Glasgow line to reduce the journey times to something reasonable. For such a nationally significant transport link, both the road and rail connections have been sadly neglected by both the UK and Scottish governments.
There used to be a Summer Saturday train from Newcastle to Stranraer which connected with the ferry to Larne. It was probably withdrawn when the direct line from Dumfries closed in 1965. There was also a through train to Heads of Ayr until 1968. Just before the Dumfries to Stranraer line closed, there were several troop trains from Northumberland on the line.
Hi many viewers cant remember that Con/Lab closed thousands miles of railtrack maybe not positlvely in '60s and westminster was rule then. Them rails and Stations are result of westmister not Scotland
@@andrewtaylor5984I am seventy years old and have wondered since the age of fourteen why this line was ever closed in the first place along with many others. There was even a military railway to Cairnryan built during World War 11 which was extensive and in place tilll the late sixties. Vested Interest ! Roads were the thing in the sixties. Roads,Land, and Scrap, Railway Scrap.The Railway had lots of land too, Fortunes were made. Interesting that the transport minister who appointed Beeching just happened to be Chairman of Britains biggest construction Marples Ridgeway (Ernest Marples). They had some of the biggest government road contracts in the country including motorways,then non existant in the UK.
Considering the Government is reportedly spending £8 million a day on hiring hotels for you know what, I think the haven't got the funds argument has gone out the window
@@calebwright6151 Okehampton to Tavistock reconnection is Phase 3 of Devon County Council's plan to restore the Northern Route (former LSWR route) in full. Phase 1 was Exeter to Okehampton. Phase 2 is Tavistock (new station near Callington Road) to Plymouth. DCC owns most of the formation between Tavistock and Bere Alston. At DCC, the overall scheme is led by Cllr Andrea Davies and Jamie Hulland, Deputy Director of Planning. Other scheme promoters include Jim Steer (Greenguage 21), Northern Route Working Group (Andy Roden et al), and TavyRAIL (Richard Searight and team). Meldon Viaduct is just one of the challenges. Others include Granite Way (what would become of it?), Mount Kelley School (alignment crosses school property), West Devon Council offices (obstructing alignment ) Tavistock North station (in private ownership), Quant Park (houses obstructing alignment) and Callington Road (new bridge needed).
I definitely agree with the Stranraer to Dumfries reopening. You could even have a service that takes people from the late boat from Belfast and meets up with one of the Caledonian Sleeper services to London. In Ireland, the Great Northern line from Derry to Portadown would also be on my list for reopening.
@@GWVillagerThat's what I meant. They could possibky meet up at Carlisle with the Edinburgh and Glasgow service. I think the Highland one is as long as you can feasibly make a train so there might not be room on that. Love your channel, keep up the good work.
@@GWVillager There used to be a sleeper from Euston to Stranraer! Stranraer did have a second station, in the town, but it closed in 1966. Clearly, Beeching thought that a town of that size could not justify two stations, and, at that time, the Harbour station had to be retained.
The Somerset and Dorset Railway should never have been closed. It was closed by dirty tricks tactics. It was handed over to the western region, whose management hated the S & D line. Amongst other things, they altered all the timetable, so that none of the train services connected any more, i.e: a train would arrive at a station 2 or 3 minutes after what would have previously been a connecting service left, instead of having both trains in the station at the same time, so that passengers could transfer easily. The new, (Western Region) timetable meant that passengers would have to wait ages for their next connecting train to come along, instead of just walking across the platform.
@@martinsims1273 Similar stories could be told of many lines throughout,England, Scotland and Wales then, the permutations are endless. At one point in the nineties, a retired high ranking civil servant told how he had organised with The BBC to get a popular comedians BBC scriptwriters to make and put out a programme dishing train travel in favour of bus. The episode went out,I remember seeing it as a child,although I then knew nothing of its origin.
The Formartine/Buchan line in Aberdeenshire really needs re-opening, a whole corner of the country is cut off. Same in Lincs - Louth should be reconnected. A line that was never built but would be great is Bournemouth - Exeter. Then a South Coast service could run from Brighton to Exeter avoiding the busy GWR route.
@@GWVillagerIf the Bournemouth to Exeter line had been built, and followed the coast, there would have been a great deal of tunnelling involved through the Devon sandstone. Such a line would have been extremely expensive, and, beyond Weymouth, would not have served any large towns.
@@GWVillager Dorchester certainly - then on to Axminster and connect to the WoE line there. The terrain is challenging, which is why that line was never built (despite being planned), but it would avoid a long detour for those on the south coast going on holiday in the summer.
@@andrewtaylor5984 better tunnelling machine technologies available now in 2024, that should make it easier, cheaper, quicker & could increase tourism, freight & communters, .. from Cornwall, Plymouth, Exeter & all along the South Coast towards Southampton, Basingstoke, Reading & the S.E, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Brighton, Hastings, Dover, Channel Tunnel & London, ..?
Fraserburgh/Peterhead - Aberdeen, to help a very depressed corner of Scotland. In fact one could argue that it was the closure of this line which led to the area becoming depressed in the first place, by cutting off easy communication with Aberdeen. Aberystwyth - Carmarthen; Teign Valley Line, to supply an alternative to the GW main when the sea pounds Dawlish.
Although the passenger service was withdrawn in 1965, the Fraserburgh branch remained open for freight until 1979, and the station was still intact the following year. The Buchan lines used to convey large quantities of fish traffic, but it was in decline when Beeching's infamous report was published. Fish traffic was another casualty of Beeching's. He had no use for loaded vans in one direction. If you take Fraserburgh to London as an example, empties would have to cover about 550 miles. Peterhead Station disappeared under a ring road c1970.
The GW had planned an inland route from Exeter to Newton Abbot, and there may have even been preliminary earthworks, but the Second World War caused the scheme to be abandoned. Exeter St David's would also have been completely rebuilt, with Southern trains using high-level platforms. The gradient between the two main Exeter stations would have been eased as a result.
@@vicsams4431 Most of the Hull and Barnsley main line closed on Leap Year Day 1932. The railways in the Thanet area were reorganised even earlier, in 1926; Ramsgate Harbour was just one station closed, and that is why the present station is a long way out of the town. If you go back further still, some stations were closed "as an economy measure" in the First World War, and they did not all reopen.
I think The Borders line should be reopened in its entirety from Edinburgh to Carlisle. Although the line is very popular between Tweedbank and Edinburgh,two huge mistakes were made. The first mistake was obviously not reopening the full length of the line. To get to Galashiels from Carlisle one has to rely on a two hourly bus journey. The second mistake was the absolute short-sightedness of building a single track railway with passing loops between Edinburgh and Tweedbank. What is worse is the fact that new bridges which were built on that route were not future proofed for a double track railway. I would also say the Dumfries to Stranraer line is a must for reopening.
Could not agree more, my local station is Eskbank and the train is always rammed so more capacity is badly needed. Also don't understand why it wasn't electrified. Classic Scottish government
I completely agree with this. For the Borders Line to be a viable alternative to the WCML it needs to be a lot faster and double track throughout. When I did it the junction off of the ECML was very slow. 15mph I’d say. Has it been improved?
The borders line was never supposed to rival any other line,its sole purpose was to give that part of the country a link to Edinburgh and beyond. Yes of course we would've liked it to be double track all the way but considering the initial estimates of usage its hardly surprising they only put in the bare minimum of infrastructure. The fact that it has been an unqualified success beyond anyone's wildest imagination only proves how pessimistic the government agencies were. Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing,you would hope they would open more lines because all the ones that have been reopened are successful..this one,the alloa line..the Bathgate line.. not to mention the various stations reopened on the Highland line and numerous others across the country. Train travel in Scotland is very popular..rebuild/reopen and the public will use it.
@@MrCmac731 I do see you point of view, but I think it should have been quite clear that this railway line was always going to be greatly utilized, I think a good compromise would have been to build all the stations with 2 platforms but keep the single track sections or just leave room for future upgrades but I doubt it will ever actually happen
The coastal line between Exeter and Torquay is regularly closed due to weather related track and infrasstructure damage.Trains to Plymouth and onward to Penzance are curtailed by the closures. Now that the Exeter to Okehampton section is up and running again it would make sense to reconnect the line between Okehampton and Gunnislake, thereby ensuring train services to Plymouth and through Cornwall are maintained
Network Rail seemed to ignore placing boulder armor off the beach at Dawlish. Other vital links like the North Wales Coast Road were extensively protected by imported granite.
Can’t believe that no-one’s mentioned the 11 miles between Skipton and Colne. Trackbed still intact and would restore a through route all the way from Leeds to Manchester.
It would be a terrible reopening. Leeds already has 2 through routes to Manchester. It would still be quicker from Skipton to get to Manchester going via Leeds. There is no capacity for more trains down the aire valley into Leeds
@@josephowen4732 Much of the line was quadruple track, certainly from Leeds to Shipley. Reinstating the two extra tracks would provide extra capacity at the Leeds end, at least. Nobody would travel from Skipton to Manchester via Leeds; it is so indirect. If you had to drive from Skipton to Manchester, I bet you would never think of going via Leeds!
@@andrewtaylor5984 adding all the track in the world wouldnt help anymore trains arrive at Leeds. There is no more platform space. You struggle to send anymore freight down the aire valley as crossing the throat at Leeds is timetabling nightmare. It currently takes 1hr 57 from skipton to manchester via leeds (this will improve with the trans pennine works going on) at a frequency of 4 an hour minimum. The time from colne to manchester is currently 1hr 35 minimum and would likely be near enough 2 hours at a frequency of 1tph. It just isnt needed, people only want it reinstalled to look pretty on a map, it actually takes away from the logical worthwhile reinstatements.
I see your point, but going by Leeds is very indirect, and, of course, one has to pay for the extra mileage. An indirect service from A to B is worse than useless. There are other destinations besides Manchester; there could be a link from Skipton to Preston via the East Lancashire towns.
THANK YOU for talking about this - no one in government has the foresight to improve links to NI by rail instead of road. As a student from NI who studied in England and avoids flying as much as possible for carbon reasons, I am well used to the 13 hour sail&rail detour via Glasgow. This line would be a godsend. Think expresses and sleepers to England etc. Freight would be more difficult (all Ireland rail review has ruled out a rail link to Belfast harbour) but there is a large amount of unaccompanied freight on the boat which could easily be shifted to rail. While I’m sure it would be physically possible to link Belfast Port to the rail network, the port of Larne might be more cost effective if the line was improved.
@@andrewtaylor5984 i dont think anyone is saying you would send the trains, you would send shipping containers which currently get transported by rail or road
It wouldn't be a stretch to redesign Larne harbour for Rail Freight as the terminating station is 100m from the boat already. The only concerns would be how deep Larne port is might limit cargo ship size and the port itself Isn't massive and don't have the room to expand. I could see the need for upgrading the single line which might lead to other problems. Also since the Greenisland to Antrim line has been pulled up (there were plans to convert to a greenway linking Greenisland to Monkstown) all rail traffic would either have to stop around Whiteabbey and reverse, or continue through Belfast and use the Lisburn to Antrim link to access Derry, Coleraine and Portrush (the link reopening was part of the strategic rail review) Personally tho focusing on Dublin to Holyhead makes a lot more sense. It opens up the whole of Ireland for Freight not just part of the North. Plus anything coming from Europe can go via channel tunnel, and across North Wales an already busy cargo route. North Wales also sits fairly well to link Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and beyond as well as the south. The strategic rail review has proposed upgrading and electrifying the Dublin to Belfast line which would benefit fright immensely and adding a branch to Derry from Portadown.
@@Javadamutt Valid points made, getting either Larne or Belfast to work for freight would be difficult. Although, having been on the A77 a few weeks ago and seeing the levels of HGV traffic, I think the argument is there to do freight modal shift of this route AS WELL as at Dublin Port. Especially after the Windsor framework with the green lane etc. a lot of supermarkets ship from GB to NI via Cairnryan to avoid customs procedures in ROI.
@@legoinventions6056 Makes sense to route through Scotland to avoid border issues. I need to brush up on where things are (obligatory F the DUP and the chaos they have caused) but I thought some level of paperwork was required to get stuff to NI regardless and most checks were still suspended? Maybe more paperwork along with checks if they go through the south. Either way stock and variety has significantly declined here since Brexit. For example Lidl stocking Sainsbury and Asda brands. I do think that a multi pronged approach is required. Mich like Scotland, rail in NI is sorely lacking. The strategic rail review plans, assuming everything gets the go ahead, will take until 2050 to complete
Those I can think of: Skipton - Colne Ivanhoe Line Uckfield - Lewes Stratford-upon-Avon - Honeybourne Walsall - Lichfield Market Harborough - Northampton Melton Mowbray - Nottingham (Tram-train) Leamside & Stillington Lines in the North East Wensleydale Line full connection between Northallerton - Garsdale Full reopening of the Borders Railway to Carlisle Line out to Stocksbridge from Sheffield (possible Tram-train) And so many other routes, most of these being "missing link" type of reopening where they would boost capacity and improve service. Now that HS2 is sadly being cancelled, even though it's unlikely to happen as the tories and Keir Starmer's labour couldn't give a toss about the railways, it would be great to see investment put into such schemes that would provide tangible improvement to the rail system in this country
I live in Skipton so Skipton to colne would be amazing especially because the only bus between the two runs hourly and the last bus from Skipton to colne is at about 7pm on a weekday. So then I’d have to make a massive detour via keighley that just isn’t worth it. That could be avoided by a cheap connection between Skipton and colne.
The problem was one of regional boundaries. These closed lines were originally Southern Region, previously Southern Railway. At the beginning of 1963, all Southern Region lines west of Salisbury were transferred to the Western Region, who just wanted to get rid of the lines it had acquired. If you look at a railway map of Devon and Cornwall today, you will see that several former Great Western branches still survive, whereas all that exists of the Southern Railway is Exeter to Barnstaple Junction, Exeter to Exmouth, and Plymouth to Gunnislake, and on that line trains take the Great Western route out of Plymouth; the Southern route was closed in 1964, when a link was built at St Budeaux. Okehampton has finally been reopened; the railway remained open for freight to and from Meldon Quarry, a few miles west of Okehampton.
As someone who has lived most of their life in Scotland,but whose late father was a Devon man i'll drink to that,its a lovely county,not the only one I like in England either,it has quite a few.
Now HS2 is dead a direct route from the East Midlands to Manchester can easily be reinstated by reopening the Matlock to Buxton (Great Rocks) section closed int he 1960's (surprise surprise) only 13 miles long it was the Midland Railway main line.
It was not even scheduled for closure under Beeching! In 1963 it was the main route from London to Manchester while the Euston Main Line was being electrified.
I would reopen the line from Barnstaple to bideford(as Torridge[the part of Devon where bideford is located] was discontinued from the railway when beaching swung his axe)
@@andrewcowling5804 I was using a common phrase which most people used to describe the 1963 reshaping of British railways report, but I do understand where it is you’re coming from, I’m sorry if I upset you in any way, I was only responding to the question at the end of the video.
It should have been converted to 25Kv AC an ideal freight and diversionary route. Sadly it’s probably lost forever as the tunnels are now used for electricity cables.
The fast link between South Yorkshire and Manchester is needed to match the TRU just as in West Yorkshire. The Hope Valley Line through the Derbyshire Peak District is not the answer as it is indirect and slow.
@@winco68 The cables can be ripped out ! I rode this line many times before it closed. Closing a line such as that with links through to Sheffield Victoria was a disgrace. That station has gone now too. With the debacle of Beeching, all lines closed after the 60s should have been mothballed in readiness for future reinstating. Where I am in West Sussex, there are so many lines that were closed, trains are rare apart from London to Brighton. There could be a great line reinstated between Three Bridges, just south of Gatwick and taken back across through to Kent. The amount of road traffic that would save would be massive.
@@mirvids5036 Yes of course the cables can be ripped out but then what? They have to be put somewhere else! Another tunnel would have to be bored to accommodate them and it’s all cost. That’s the problem financial viability. Even if we get a pro rail government with all the will in the world to replace these missing lines without firm assurances of predicted guaranteed income returns over short/medium term they simply won’t happen. Borders railway was an example of underestimating the viability where the expectation was for only about 40% of the passengers it actually attracted and was seriously under capacity with single track, short trains etc it should have been double track throughout with potential for expansion, extension and the addition of freight. But that seemed to be an exception to the rule because there was no other railway near it that could be upgraded. With the Woodhead Route the question would be ‘Why do we need a fourth trans pennine rail corridor in the North?’ The solution would be to upgrade the track and signalling of the Hope Valley Line and increase the track speed and use that instead. I’ve seen it happen in the North East with the Leamside Line in Co Durham. For 30 years it stood idle then when pressure came to open it due to lack of capacity on the ECML the government gave money to Network Rail to upgrade the Durham Coast Line and they just used that instead. An old line will never be reinstated if there’s one nearby that can be upgraded.
@@garethhenshaw I was born there, I remember when the line closed! From last time I was there, there are two, maybe 3 bits that I think would be problematic, the rest of it is still an obvious railway trackbed. Opposite Bourne End station there's a little industrial estate built on what I assume was the old goods yard, but I don't think laying track would affect more than one or two buildings. I think the old bay platform for the Marlow Donkey at Bourne End is a gonner for good, but maybe it could be recreated somehow if it's even necessary? The next problem is at Wooburn Green where houses have been built on & opposite the old station site, (the former was still a private house complete with platforms etc last time I was there in person), but you could easily just move the trackbed slightly west for half a mile or so & go round the new develoipment. Then at Treadaway Hill the old railway tunnel under the motorway is there, but there's a steel frame industrial building right in front of it that would need the chop & relocation. Then it's OK all the way to joining the main line at High Wycombe (there's a rat run that uses the old trackbed right at the last gasp in High Wycombe, but only because it can).
@@fat_biker youll have to compulsory purchase the loudwater industrial estate in order to get to high wycombe as that is the location of loudwater station it was removed and built on fully to the point on one side of the road a building sits on the alignment and looking ther other way you can see the railway bed and ive followed that pathway and it goes all the way to high wycombe having it link up with the stations island platform would probably be the best thing for a reconstituted railway line here. another thing id suggest that bourne station have a minor relocation so instead of one line terminating from high wycombe there that it becomes a through station for the existing line that runs occationally to bourne end thus it probably becomes more viable and the site of the old station would make for a decent car park with a bus bay area. oh i forgot to mention that some of the line was infilled and a school was built on it loudwater academy previously known as loudwater primary.
My three votes would go for 1) Braintree to Bishops Stortford diverted to Stansted Airport. When the line was closed, the Dept of Housing moved thousands from Barking to Great Dunmow only to find the Dept of Transport shut the railway first. It was very disjointed. In those days, Stansted Airport had not taken off and inclusion of a north to west curve at Witham, would allow trains from big cities like Colchester and Ipswich to reach the airport. Most of the trackbed is still in situ. 2) Sudbury to Cambridge. This route was very hard fought by the locals and deeply mourned. It would join Colchester to Cambridge and link villages that have since become major towns like Haverhill. Again almost all the trackbed is still in situ. 3) Kings Lynn to Hunstanton. This line served the Sandringhsm Estate and the locals have kept every station (except Hunstanton which was bulldozed) in the hope of it reopening. As well as helping the local communities, Hunstanton is a popular seaside resort and traffic would be boosted by tourism. The trackbed is almost complete except for where the A149 nicked bits.
I travelled on that line as far as Long Melford two weeks before closure; it was my first visit to Cambridge. The M11/A505 rebuilding (NOT improvement) has severed the trackbed at Pampisford.
Thanks for your advice. It closed @ 1968 (?) But I used the original station at Sudbury before the line was cut back. I have walked the trackbed from Ashdon to Bartlow and I climbed into the Signalbox at Bartlow when it was still accessible. I have also visited the station at Clare.
A better link to Carnryan would be good but taking freight to NI might prove tricky. UK and NI have different rail gauges so youd have to unload from rail at one side and reload on the other. The other link that needs re-opening is from Tweedbank via Hawick towards Carlisle. This might me re-routing the line to join with the west coast mainline at Gretna would finish of the reopening of the Waverly line.
Reopening the "Port Road" to Stranraer would be great, but I'd prioritise the Waverley route, right through to Carlisle. Meanwhile, the old Port Road makes an excellent walking and cycling track between Mossdale and Gatehouse of Fleet station.
Penrith to Keswick in the Lake District is an obvious one to me. This line survived Beeching but was run down by BR to such an extent that closure became inevitable by 1972. Much of the infrastructure still exists too.
It used to be a through route to Workington. The whole line was subject to closure under Beeching, and the line west of Keswick closed in 1966, whilst the rest survived as a (very) basic railway for almost six more years. The only chance of survival would have been to keep the whole line open. Unfortunately, most of the trackbed west of Keswick lies under a realigned A66, and that was a highly controversial scheme in seventies Britain.
i live in AYR further up the coast from stranrarer and cairnryan etc, and for years the local population including me have been crying out for a better rail link to the port, about 10 years ago i worked in the opencast coal industry in scotland and a large amount of our coal was sent to ireland so had anywhere from 20 to 30 trucks a day transporting coal to cairnryan onto the ferry, so yes i agree with this video 100%
I think the Borders railway which currently runs from Edinburgh to Tweedbank should continue to Carlisle. The line also would benefit greatly from increased capacity as overcrowding is common on this line. There are several large towns in the borders such as ;Kelso, Coldstream,Hawick and Jedburgh to name a few which are at least 50 miles from the nearest railway station so these large towns could be connected via branch lines of the main Edinburgh - Carlisle line
have you looked on the map to see where these towns are in relation to the borders line. the coldstream line. essentially from Boswels to Tweedmouth line was closed by the LNER IN 1930 because it was so unprofitable that no matter what they tried, involving using buses. they never got it to pay let alone make a profit. that was in the days before H&S made things so much more expensive. it wouldnt pay now. even if a feeder line from Jedbourgh was included
@@andrewcowling5804 That is not correct. The Berwick to St Boswells line was a Beeching casualty, closing in 1964. Until the mid-fifties, there were just four trains each way. The service was then halved, and several intermediate stations closed. The line also suffered in 1948; when the East Coast Main Line was closed for ten weeks, most main-line traffic was diverted via Kelso, so the local trains had to be cut. The line was also largely worked by steam to the end.
@@andrewcowling5804 Jedburgh Station was a branch terminus off the Berwick to St Boswells line. It started at Roxburgh Junction. Passenger trains were withdrawn in August 1948 after the Borders floods. The line was repaired, but passenger trains were never restored. Freight traffic lasted until c1964.
The line should never have been closed in the first place,closed1969 by a Labour government to boot. Wonder if the fact the areas it runs through in Scotland are predominatly Torie. There has oft been suspicions of The Kilmacolm line closed in the eighties by Strathclyde Region despite reasonable patronage. Closure of the Waverly Route,with no attempt at modernisation,leave some of Scotlands biggest towns more than thirty miles from a railway,close a direct route to Carlise and The South, - FALSE ECONOMY. I have never voted Torie in me life incidentaly,age seventy.
Marks Tey/Sudbury to Cambridge via Haverhill. For an area so built up and connected by road it is very difficult to access the rest of the country by rail from the anglia main line. Also there is no bus route between haverhill and great yeldham so there is no way of getting to one of the most important cities in the area without a 2-3 hour detour via london or ipswich
Dumfries to Stranraer - what a massive boost to the area where there's no railways at all. Having lived southwest of Castle Douglas, it was so poorly served for public transport. Just an FYI - Dalbeattie is pronounced Dall'beet'ee
Dumfries to Lockerbie. It could have a rail link to Edinburgh and beyond. Beattock and Moffat. The only way to get to Lockerbie is via two buses (X74, 81) that runs for ages. Edit: the latter is outdated
Dumfries to Stranraer is certainly desirable - and not just on this side of the Irish Sea, I shouldn't imagine; and maybe even if it involves losing the line circuitous route south of Girvan, as most of the Glasgow - NI passenger traffic now flies, or sails via Troon. But the Cairnryan branch is even more urgent - and your idea of a new, Parkway-type station on the edge of Stranraer will serve it just as well as the old Harbour station! Even as we speak, the rarely-used Mauchline line is sitting there, poised for the freight to start flowing again. It's a no brainer, really! Glastonbury & Street is also a nice idea, but for a yearly festival, run by a farmer nearing retirement age - that was for long the only one of its type but which is now one of many worthy projects? If money were no object, perhaps....
Well, in my part of the world, I would certainly like to see the link between Uckfield and Lewes restored. Closer to home the line from Shoreham Junction to Christs Hospital and its counterpart, the line north from Christ's hospital to Guildford. Unhelpfully, rather than preserve the route, Horsham Council have just buit a new estate on the Shoreham to Christ's Hospital route just outside Southwater.
If you think the money available from failing to complete HS2 will be spent on anything significantly more than 100 miles from London you are living in the clouds. The remainder will be flittered away on very small infrastructure projects to benefit marginal Conservative parliamentary seats such as more roundabouts planted with daffodils for the so-called beautification of South East London suburbs.
1:10 sorry mate I think you might have pricked your finger and fallen into, The Cloud, Thirteen years of tory austerity does tend to eff a(UK)Islands economy, Oh and Thatcher's garage sale of the Countries Infrastructure, Bless her cotton socks, Started the Ball rolling,
I think, although it is very rural, the Mid-Wales railway would be an interesting one to open - especially if it is continued to the South Wales valleys via Merthyr Tudful - the reason why I think this is important is mainly connectivity in Wales - it takes a long time to travel through Wales and is impossible to go through Wales by train. By having the Mid Wales line open it would connect with the Cambrian line near Newtown and connect the towns of Llanidloes, Rhaedr, Builth, Brecon, and then on to Merthyr Tudful, giving a viable North-South link, restoring rail links to Llani, Rhae, Builth and Brecon, and relieving pressure on the mountain roads
Even more useful would be reopening the Pontypool to Neath line, across the heads if the valleys. Unfortunately, it would cost a small fortune to build a new Crumlin Viaduct. (But look what the French did at Millau, even though that viaduct carries a road.)
Gareth Dennis dedicated one of his RailNatter livestreams to this, based on population data: ruclips.net/video/Xjy21vMtrfo/видео.html (runtime 1:35:36)
I have just turned 48, I fully agree with you about the lines mentioned in this video, but thh, if and when i turn 75, we will still be talking about it.
As much as I would love alot of routes to re open with the Political climate we have I can't see it happening ,other than in the home counties ,Scotland and in election manifestos 😂
There would be massive tourism benefit on the Dumfries/Stranraer line. The forest hills north of that are amazing, potentially as lovely an area for outdoors lovers as the lakes. And the Scottish riviera already has arts, crafts and food. I should know. I've walked it a bit and suffered the complicated multi bus journies from Edinburgh.
There's more political hope than you think if you remember to appeal to the Scittish Parliament. A far more rail positive assembly than the UK at present.
@@RollerbazAndCoasterDad Scittish Parliament is the right word ! There was many Scots up for Railway land for 'Development Opportunity,' at the time as English. I was young at the time and walking the recently closed lines with my mates, one since reopened which was an act of madness to close,was the Glasgow Central Low Level Railway.
I think the route is an excellent choice for all the reasons you say, and it might be possible to arrange for a terminal/storage facility at the end of new part by the ferry. I find it's usually cheaper/better to relocate an old line on the original route generally, especially if the old route opposite the possible tunnel could have one or two useful stops. The bother with a few minimal acquisitions in town is nothing compared to HS2 going through every golf course and grave yard they could find. I'm not familiar with the line but do a lot of the same kind of speculation in the Western Hemisphere. (Google earth is helpful because if you read the elevations in feet it's a lot more exact that meters, so you have a survey for free, which can be corroborated with topo maps, but it's much more detailed and accessible. It's also "possible" to make fairly accurate depictions of your intentions railwise, with headings down to the 2nd decimal ((and farther if you measure it, assuming it's long enough to matter.)) England is about 50 or 60 years behind us in the US as far as rail destruction goes - we invented it, as a racket, about 1945, and now it's spreading internationally. The Beaching Cuts? That's nothing compared to having actual racketeers in control of the railroads, but it is symptomatic of the same mindset. England was just more resistant to it than us. I don't know what to tell you to do about that. It's very difficult to make people interested in your talk of curves and grades because, if it's like here, 'rail culture' is dead. Even rail foamers/fanatics, or train buffs, find all that business of civil engineering boring and unimportant, whereas it's the only thing that matters. All they like is steam engines ...freight trains, and some, rarely, luxury trains. The same is true of the politicians, and that's why these rail design professionals are able to get away with willfully dooming their planned "improvements" from the start. It helps to own for all practical purposes what we call administrative agencies like the Federal Railroad Administration too, which they do. I'm not saying it's possible, but to get after the big international (generally US based or originated) consultants who caused the insane circuitousness with grinding around loopy high speed curves and tunnels ad infinitum, and the continual dithering with change orders + so on, and the unnecessary excavations in a huge radius around that station by the library in London, and putting Birmingham on a spur instead of on the/a main line where it belongs, should be called to account. (and pay to the point of their own destruction rather that of the system of transportation) There is a form of lawsuit called respondeat superior so you don't have to insult anyone that you don't intend to collect money from, but is it possible they're really that dumb? I doubt it. Still it's nice to give them the benefit of the doubt.
@@GWVillager Frankly I don't know if work would help now. It would take a lot of money to go off on one's own tangent, or sue: you have to have lawyers, experts. Can only watch it go by. Notably Brightline in Florida is the most dangerous stretch of track in the country, maybe the world. They knew that would happen, so now they get megabucks for this somewhat ludicrous HS line in California. It's not a temporary thing: Etched in stone and steel of practical permanence.
idk what MAGN is, but looking up The East Lincolnshire Line it does seem very good. Connects 2 notable locations via small coastal towns (or near them at least) seems a great plan, maybe not my first pick unless I'm missing something but a really good one.
@@sterlinghartley2165 MAGN most likely refers to the old Midland & Great Northern Railway route between Little Bytham/Peterborough and Norwich/Great Yarmouth, which closed in 1959.
HS2 isn’t dead just yet. Birmingham Crewe is still working through parliament, and has good cross party support. Crewe Manchester is also passing through parliament and requires a full debate and vote to stop.
Obvious one I always say is the Woodhead line between Manchester and Sheffield, yes Sheffield Victoria isn't open but I personally think Sheffield could do with a second station.
Grew up in Street, so I can get behind this. The bus to Bristol is sooo slow. I think a link to Bridgwater or Highbridge would be worthwhile too though
If there are problems with transport in Bristol, the Midland approach to the city, via Mangotsfield, should be reopened, and one then might as well reopen the Mangotsfield to Bath link, as a prelude to reopening the Somerset and Dorset. The Midland approach to Bristol was closed only because Temple Meads Station and the surrounding area was being resignalled, and closing the Midland route led to "simplification." At the same time, the GW approach was reduced from quadruple to double track, but I gather that the other two tracks have now been reinstated.
@@andrewtaylor5984 I would be able to get behind that and a second route between Bristol and Bath like before couldn't kill either. It's a very busy corridor and I wouldn't mourn the Sainsbury's car park that's taken up much of the station space at Green Park
@@grassytramtracks At least Green Park Station survived, although it was derelict for several years. An earlier generation of planners would have demolished it. The line could have paid its way notwithstanding the climb through the Mendips. In the early to mid seventies, Bristol to Bournemouth was the most lucrative coach service in the country not serving London.
Totton to Fawley in Hampshire. It could considerably reduce commuter traffic into Southampton. The line already exists and the subject gets raised from time to time, but nothing ever gets done.
Three Rivers Community Rail Partnership was an advocate of this scheme, but I've just had a look at its website and there's no longer any mention of the Waterside Line.
Mate the Glastonbury festival takes place in the village of Pilton which is south of shepton mallet so any train track up that way would go vie shepton. For one there is a rather large brewery which would handly use the rail infrastructure to expand there business. Oh not to mention this silly plan of your completely miss out Wells which unlike Glastonbury, Shepton Mallet and Street is in fact a city and the de facto capital of the region. In fact frankly any railway would probably end short of Glastonbury because no one wants give the Glastonbury loons a chance to spread.
The final nail in the coffin of your argument would be that this proposed train route would be slower and more expensive than the existing bus route from Bristol…
Dumfries to Stranraer, to reopen that train line would makes the A75 safer for all road users. Travelling along that road after the ferry arrives is a nightmare.
if you re open stranraer - dumfries line, reopen the line from Kirkcudbright to Castle Douglas as well as the other branch line that was on the stranraer - dumfries line
What puts me off travelling to mainland by Ferry as someone from Belfast, is the sheer lack of rail connections. Much rather fly, even if I want to go on the train, I’d take the train to Dublin then to Holyhead and train from there, there is only 2 services a day running from Stranraer, neither in conjunction with ferry times. The bus puts me off
I went to Michael Wood services on the M5 in June. At 10 o'clock a.m., the services were very unusually packed and I realised after some time that nearly all the occupants were from Glastonbury, the Festival having just finished on that day. A rail line to Glastonbury would clearly alleviate very heavy traffic, as on that day, on the motorway and I am sure that those who were conscious of global warming from motor vehicles would use it. Most vehicles were diesel.
Festival are always great for train to serve, there an example of where parking is always going to be really impractical. Burton upon trent to Leicester Line via Coalville and Ashby?
Okehampton to Bere Alston in West Devon, thus reinstating the old Waterloo-Exeter-Plymouth route providing an alternative route to the Southwest of England, reconnecting Tavistock on the network, and ,more importantly, being a route avoiding the total dependance on the only rail connexion to the Southwest along the weather vulnerable GWR route at Dawlish.
Colne to Skipton and double track from Colne to Rosegrove should be a must as the track bed is largely intact, and would show the government are serious about levelling up!!!
Interesting video. I think the most important projects should be Dumfries to Stranraer with an extension to Cairnryan, and reopening the Waverley line in its entirelym, reinstating the closed section between Galashiels and Carlisle. I live in Mid Somerset and have different ideas about reopening the railway to Glastonbury. There is already a railway from Witham Junction near Frome almost as far as Shepton Mallet, the first part being Mendip Rail for the quarry at Downhead which is continued on the East Somerset Railway at Cranmore. It would be difficult to rebuild along the original route to Wells as the railway used to cross the trunk A37 road on the level and I don't think anyone would want the reinstatement of the level crossing at this point. But the railway could be realigned southwards around the town and rejoin the original route to Wells behind the present day Tesco superstore. The new alignment would pass close to a large industrial estate and quite possibly Gregorys and other major traffic producers could be encouraged to move some of their business to rail. At Wells the line of the railway has been built on but it could be reinstated on the west side of the bypass and join the long-closed Somerset and Dorset branch to Glastonbury. All three towns in Mid Somerset would then be connected to the rail network. Glastonbury Festival would not have a train station but the festival is only held once a year and the line would only be a mile away from Pilton. The line would also benefit the Bath and West Showground, if the new station at Shepton Mallet had plenty of shuttle buses when there is a major event on. I haven't forgotten about the East Somerset Railway, which is a long-established undertaking and could be trusted to share the track between Cranmore and Shepton Mallet if it had its own platforms in both places and run trains to the same rules as the many main line steam-hauled excursion trains on the current rail network.
Cairnryan had a railway connected to Stranraer, The Cairnryan Military Railway. Carnryan was Military Port No 2, Faslane on the Clyde being No 1. They existed in event of ports further south being neutralised by enemy action.
personally, I'd like to see the Barnsley-Doncaster line reopened (allowing a direct interchange with the East Coast Main Line), though intermediate stops would be difficult as the line has been built over in the two largest towns on the route, Wombwell and Wath upon Dearne another good idea to my mind would be reopening the Doncaster-Worksop line, as the track is still in place, and it would serve Maltby and Dinnington, two of the worst connected towns in South Yorkshire; it could be combined with an express route between Worksop and Sheffield, and the existing all-stops route between Sheff and Donny, forming a circular route like the Leeds-Knottingley-Wakefield route in West Yorkshire
Whilst we are in that part of the country, reopen the Midland Main Line through Normanton, Cudworth, and Wath, another line not included in the Beeching Report.
Dumfries to Stranraer used to be known as the Paddy line, certainly reopening it would be useful as it would take much of the strain off the A75 trunk road but I doubt very much it will happen anytime soon.
The line between Bishop’s Stortford and Braintree would be a good candidate for reopening. It would finally get rid of the awkward massive gap between the two core Greater Anglia networks and make a lot of journeys across Essex much more viable. Plus practically the whole line and most of the stations have been preserved as a walking trail, so it would be very achievable.
Before they reopen Stranraer-Dumfries, they really need to build a railway from Dunragit to Cairnryan for a direct connection to the ferry. Rather than closing the line to Stranraer Harbour as you suggest (which would mean a longer walk from the station into the town), I would simply rebuild the station closer to Port Rodie. This option was proposed by SAYLSA (Now the South-West Scotland CRP) back in 2011. Some have suggested reopening the old Stranraer Town station, but it was no closer to the town than the harbour station.
During the current parliament, my money is on Waterside Line (Southampton to Fawley), and Ivanhoe Line (Leicester to Burton on Trent via Coalville and Ashby de la Zouch). Business case for both schemes is likely to focus on helping to address UK's housing goals, A major obstacle to Ivanhoe Line reinstatement is the missing Knighton North Curve, south of Leicester on the Midland Main Line. Replacing this curve would mean acquiring the southeastern corner of Freeman's Common Trading Estate. The third scheme that might (and should) get funding is Tavistock to Bere Alston. I comment on this elsewhere. Reinstatement of this part of the Northern Route would generate positive political capital for the Labour government, as did the Okehampton reconnection. I am aware of most (if not all) of the other UK proposals, and consider these three to be the most likely to receive funding.
I would suggest the old Midland and Great Northern Joibt Railway for avoiding London freight traffic from the Midlands and North along with serving Lical passenger services.
Some interesting thoughts, also some worthwhile comments. So many lines closed in the 50s/60s should never have closed. They certainly should not have been pulled apart and destroyed the way they were. It was criminal that the routes were not left in situ for future reassessment. But unfortunately, we are now left with a railway not fit for purpose. Train cancellations, late running, total unreliability of the whole network. Levelling up has already been achieved, there’s as much chance of finding your train cancelled from Margate to Manchester. The railway culture has been lost so it’s going to be difficult to persuade anyone to reopen lines unless we can first sort out what we have. Still live in hope. 🏔️🚴♂️👣🇺🇦
All the protagonists are passed,they did not care then so long as they made money,they certainly do not care now Behold the dystopean nightmare bestowed. Money was made, Joe Public conned, somewhat successfully.
The Great Central should be reopened, including the Woodford Halse to Banbury line. This would provide a north to south service to almost anywhere in the country, without the need to go to London. The line could have been used as the basis for HS2, using the Woodford to Stratford line, ( the old S&MJ route) then the existing GW line to Birmingham. This would have saved millions. Also reinstate the four tracks on the GW main line into Birmingham, and make the Rugby to Birmingham line four-track throughout. Reopening the Great Central would give Nottingham a station right in the City Centre. Reopening the Woodhead line gives extra capacity between Sheffield and Manchester. There is no need to build a new line linking Manchester and Leeds. Reopen the Micklehurst loop, and the two single track Standedge Tunnels. There was once a four-track main line from there to Huddersfield, and reopening the Gildersome line provides another route to Leeds.
I would build a loop through to Glasgow Central via Stranraer, Cairnryan Harbour to Girvan and continue trains through to Ayr, Prestwick Airport, and on to Paisley Gilmour Street and Glasgow Central. This could help reverse the decline of Prestwick Airport.
Why am I not surprised that the “reinvested” HS2 money went on projects that had already been announced. I was already disappointed when over half of what he said was road widening, so I highly suspected this “reinvestment” was really a clever way to save a bit on already-extant announcement obligations. Tories really don’t want to change before the election, do they? Same old policies, 60-70 years on.
It is disgraceful, really. As if the cancellation of our flagship infrastructure wasn’t enough, there is very little in the “Network North” (which is neither a network nor Northern) that’s actually new.
Very much agree. A great circle - Bristol, Bath, Frome, Shepton, Wells, Glastonbury, Bridgwater, Weston, Yatton, Bristol would connect Somerset into Bristol and reconnect all those Somerset towns.
the line i really want to see reopen is Beverley to York line so we can fast train to York without needing to travel to hull first as well taking road traffic off the main road from Beverley to York as it one off the most dangers roads in country as well as very overcrowded
The Cuckoo Line from Uckfield to Lewes has been considered for re-opening for many years but nothing has been done for it. Most of the former route is walking paths. A connection like this would mean that people wanting to travel to Lewes or Uckfield don't have to go all the way up to London and back down again
The "port road" from Dumfries to Stranraer has many obstacles to rebuilding. Many bridges would need replacing and the big water of fleet viaduct is life expired. Some (but not a great amount) of the trackbed has been built on and would need purchasing to remove things like Tesco superstores. At the Stranraer end of the line, the ferry to Ireland moved out years ago and would need to move back from Cairnryan to give a passenger service any use of the railway.
Obviously some infrastructure would need replacing - that’s fine, some money will have to be spent. As I referred to in the video, I would extend the line North to Cairnryan and close the current Stranraer Harbour station.
You’re absolutely correct and the cost would be phenomenal. One of the major issues as well as a breached trackbed and construction upon a former tracked is a missing trackbed. Many new roads and the A75 is no exception have been built upon the former trackbed as the formation tends to be flatter and straighter and ideal for a new road. This was deliberate and multi faceted as it not only made construction of the road much easier but it also made any potential for rail reinstatement much harder.
my first line i would reopen if i had the power to do so .. would be Okehampton to Bere Alston.. also fully duel the line of the north Dartmoor. with a new Northern loop at Cowley Junction Over the rivers Creedy and Exe to save reversing at Exeter St Davids. also full OLU from Newbury to Plymouth VIA NORTH DARTMOOR. would probably need a new Meldon Viaduct next to the old one. New stations at Tavistock and Lydford for National trust and a new tram system via Lifton into Launceston using the Old GWR line where possible. my 2nd line would be Wisbech to Colchester Via Cambridge linking Eastwest rail and greater anglia services into Liverpool street London.. Extending the line through Cambridge south new stations at Great Shelford Linton Haverhill Clare Long Melford and finally Sudbury at Sudbury move the Station into Station Car park and into Colchester. Single track with passing loops on-route. trains could have a half hourly service 1 to wisbech and one to KingsLynn from Colchester.
You can now travel very efficiently and in an almost straight line between Marylebone and Leamington. Are you actually referring to the old Great Central London extension which ran to Rugby on its way up to Leicester and Sheffirld? Or maybe the LNWR line from Rugby to Leamington?
Bourne End (Bucks) to High Wycombe. Oakhampton to Bere Alston via Tavistock Great Central line - all of it! Carmarthen to Aberystwyth Afon Wen to Bangor via Caernarfon On top of reopenings, trains must be fully automated, all lineside signalling and associated costs and reliability issues thus removed. We need guards on trains, not drivers. It's 2023, and if you wanted to create an automatic transport system, you'd design a railway! Automatic trains overcome driver shortages, and it makes all train sets fully available for any journey with no crew changes and shift limits to worry about. Humans are also terrible at driving trains (hence all the warning systems in the cab) so removing them would be a plus for safety. Sadly, our railways can't run a drinks evening in a brewery, and their idea of project cost control is applied with the same rigour as a sailor in port on a Saturday night.
I would reccomend the reopening of: Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway A station at Knowle to serve the mass of new developments there. Reinstating lines from Fareham to Gosport and possibly a train ferry from Gosport to Portsmouth. Meon Vallet Line from Alton to Portsmouth.
Typical of this short sighted government to focus on the A75 instead of rebuilding the line to Stranraer/Cairnryan. I like the Glastonbury and Street loop too. The Carmarthen to Aberystwyth line needs rebuilding, as does a Brighton Mainl Line 2 link
If you’ve ever driven on the a75 you would understand why it needs upgraded I spend most of my working life dragging trailers to and from cairnryan on that road and while I agree a rail link to cairnryan would be beneficial the road is in dire need of upgrading its nice and scenic for a car driver however a 40mph speed limit for HGV’s for 100 miles with few overtaking opportunities limits the range of goods vehicles who have a range of 9h driving 3h of which is eaten up on the a75 if abiding by Scotland’s draconian speed limits. This is why the Irish government and Stena have been lobbying for years to get the 75/77 upgraded because it’s where the highest % of their goods movement occurs and it’s not fit for purpose. So unless you had modern day motorail for artics up there I think the road should take priority.
I live near newton stewart and the potential amount of lorry's a rail link could remove would be a bonus. Stranraer town station is just sitting abandoned.
We need to reopen the line from Carmarthen to Aberystwyth via Lampeter in mid west Wales the line from Caenarthen to Bangor in the north that would enable you people to travel the length f Wales from South to North through to Holyhead Angeles that connects to Northern Ireland across the Sea. This line should on never been closed by Beacham because at the moment you got catch a bus from Carmarthen to Aberystwyth. As the train line goes from Carmarthen to Shrewsbury in England then back to Aberystwyth that does not make sense especially as we no have to drive at 20 mph in Wales in the villages between the two main towns.
Dumfries - Stranraer was just beautiful. It was recreated in the Train Simulator game, if anyone wants a taster (~70% discount in the Steam summer & winter sales).
Id reopen the line between Carmarthen and Aberystwyth but i would slightly redirect the route to allow a new station in Cardigan. aswell as Aberystwyth to Bangor to make travel between South and North Wales quicker and better connect Wales. Id also reconnect porthcawl by rail.
You could have a station nearer to Stanraer, on a stub of the current line, which could be served by all trains. Build a wye so the train heads in, the driver changes ends and then the train departs to head north or east. Could also be used to turn steam locos running an excursion.
Seeing as we're already in fantasy territory, the Holmfirth branch would do decent numbers today if it still existed, relieving the congested A616 into Huddersfield. Sadly there's a missing viaduct and a load of large executive homes near the junction with the existing Huddersfield to Sheffield line at Brockholes.
The huge amount of the giant articulated trucks is not really suitable for Galloways road system. Would be cheaper to reopen line than try and blast more roads through the hard granite.
it should ultamately go to bristol airport and downtown bristol on it own line so all the havey busesa tucks that haul bamds and there gearcould be put on the train and that makeesrural road a lot cheaper to maintain.
should also make a companion video on new railways needed like a Dawlish bypass and where hsr is needed. because some of these likes are better off being replaced with a new alignment
The main advantage of re-opening the Stranraer - Dumfries line would be for freight. Freight could be moved from Stranraer (or Cairnryan) through Dumfries and directly to Newcastle creating a direct East-West link from NI to Europe. Passenger services could also use the route, including the re-instatement of the direct Stranraer - London services (including the sleeper) and also include significant improvements on the Stranraer - Ayr - Glasgow line to reduce the journey times to something reasonable. For such a nationally significant transport link, both the road and rail connections have been sadly neglected by both the UK and Scottish governments.
There used to be a Summer Saturday train from Newcastle to Stranraer which connected with the ferry to Larne. It was probably withdrawn when the direct line from Dumfries closed in 1965. There was also a through train to Heads of Ayr until 1968. Just before the Dumfries to Stranraer line closed, there were several troop trains from Northumberland on the line.
Not opening soon as long as no chance westminster makes the decisions on Scotlands budget
Another coservative failure runing down the clock to their empire demise ⚔
Hi many viewers cant remember that Con/Lab closed thousands miles of railtrack maybe not positlvely in '60s and westminster was rule then. Them rails and Stations are result of westmister not Scotland
@@andrewtaylor5984I am seventy years old and have wondered since the age of fourteen why this line was ever closed in the first place along with many others. There was even a military railway to Cairnryan built during World War 11 which was extensive and in place tilll the late sixties. Vested Interest ! Roads were the thing in the sixties. Roads,Land, and Scrap, Railway Scrap.The Railway had lots of land too, Fortunes were made. Interesting that the transport minister who appointed Beeching just happened to be Chairman of Britains biggest construction Marples Ridgeway (Ernest Marples). They had some of the biggest government road contracts in the country including motorways,then non existant in the UK.
Okehampton-Tavistock North-Bere Alston gets my vote.
I heard that the viaduct just outside Okehampton was to expensive to replace or repair but it would be amazing though.
Considering the Government is reportedly spending £8 million a day on hiring hotels for you know what, I think the haven't got the funds argument has gone out the window
@@calebwright6151 Okehampton to Tavistock reconnection is Phase 3 of Devon County Council's plan to restore the Northern Route (former LSWR route) in full. Phase 1 was Exeter to Okehampton. Phase 2 is Tavistock (new station near Callington Road) to Plymouth. DCC owns most of the formation between Tavistock and Bere Alston. At DCC, the overall scheme is led by Cllr Andrea Davies and Jamie Hulland, Deputy Director of Planning. Other scheme promoters include Jim Steer (Greenguage 21), Northern Route Working Group (Andy Roden et al), and TavyRAIL (Richard Searight and team). Meldon Viaduct is just one of the challenges. Others include Granite Way (what would become of it?), Mount Kelley School (alignment crosses school property), West Devon Council offices (obstructing alignment ) Tavistock North station (in private ownership), Quant Park (houses obstructing alignment) and Callington Road (new bridge needed).
I definitely agree with the Stranraer to Dumfries reopening. You could even have a service that takes people from the late boat from Belfast and meets up with one of the Caledonian Sleeper services to London.
In Ireland, the Great Northern line from Derry to Portadown would also be on my list for reopening.
Why not run a few sleeper coaches from Cairnryan? It might be complicated, but they could be shunted onto the Lowlander at Carlisle.
@@GWVillagerThat's what I meant. They could possibky meet up at Carlisle with the Edinburgh and Glasgow service. I think the Highland one is as long as you can feasibly make a train so there might not be room on that.
Love your channel, keep up the good work.
@@GWVillager There used to be a sleeper to Stranraer, back in the day.
@@GWVillager There used to be a sleeper from Euston to Stranraer! Stranraer did have a second station, in the town, but it closed in 1966. Clearly, Beeching thought that a town of that size could not justify two stations, and, at that time, the Harbour station had to be retained.
I used to travel on the direct sleeper service from Stranraer to Euston, 9pm from Stranraer Harbour to Euston 6am.
Loved the dismissing of Tesco in Castle Douglas at 1.55.
As someone who lives in Street, thanks for noticing us! I‘d love a rail connection more than I can say!!
The Somerset and Dorset Railway should never have been closed. It was closed by dirty tricks tactics. It was handed over to the western region, whose management hated the S & D line. Amongst other things, they altered all the timetable, so that none of the train services connected any more, i.e: a train would arrive at a station 2 or 3 minutes after what would have previously been a connecting service left, instead of having both trains in the station at the same time, so that passengers could transfer easily. The new, (Western Region) timetable meant that passengers would have to wait ages for their next connecting train to come along, instead of just walking across the platform.
@@martinsims1273 as someone who lives in Bath and regularly goes to Poole, I approve of this message
@@martinsims1273 Similar stories could be told of many lines throughout,England, Scotland and Wales then,
the permutations are endless. At one point in the nineties, a retired high ranking civil servant told how he had organised with The BBC to get a popular comedians BBC scriptwriters to make and put out a programme
dishing train travel in favour of bus. The episode went out,I remember seeing it as a child,although I then knew nothing of its origin.
The Formartine/Buchan line in Aberdeenshire really needs re-opening, a whole corner of the country is cut off.
Same in Lincs - Louth should be reconnected.
A line that was never built but would be great is Bournemouth - Exeter. Then a South Coast service could run from Brighton to Exeter avoiding the busy GWR route.
Bournemouth to Exeter is interesting, presumably it would follow the line to Weymouth before continuing along the coast?
Yes! Northeast Scotland is so underserved for rail.
@@GWVillagerIf the Bournemouth to Exeter line had been built, and followed the coast, there would have been a great deal of tunnelling involved through the Devon sandstone. Such a line would have been extremely expensive, and, beyond Weymouth, would not have served any large towns.
@@GWVillager Dorchester certainly - then on to Axminster and connect to the WoE line there. The terrain is challenging, which is why that line was never built (despite being planned), but it would avoid a long detour for those on the south coast going on holiday in the summer.
@@andrewtaylor5984 better tunnelling machine technologies available now in 2024, that should make it easier, cheaper, quicker & could increase tourism, freight & communters, .. from Cornwall, Plymouth, Exeter & all along the South Coast towards Southampton, Basingstoke, Reading & the S.E, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Brighton, Hastings, Dover, Channel Tunnel & London, ..?
Fraserburgh/Peterhead - Aberdeen, to help a very depressed corner of Scotland. In fact one could argue that it was the closure of this line which led to the area becoming depressed in the first place, by cutting off easy communication with Aberdeen.
Aberystwyth - Carmarthen;
Teign Valley Line, to supply an alternative to the GW main when the sea pounds Dawlish.
Although the passenger service was withdrawn in 1965, the Fraserburgh branch remained open for freight until 1979, and the station was still intact the following year. The Buchan lines used to convey large quantities of fish traffic, but it was in decline when Beeching's infamous report was published. Fish traffic was another casualty of Beeching's. He had no use for loaded vans in one direction. If you take Fraserburgh to London as an example, empties would have to cover about 550 miles. Peterhead Station disappeared under a ring road c1970.
The GW had planned an inland route from Exeter to Newton
Abbot, and there may have even been preliminary earthworks, but the Second World War caused the scheme to be abandoned. Exeter St David's would also have been completely rebuilt, with Southern trains using high-level platforms. The gradient between the two main Exeter stations would have been eased as a result.
...look at a BR map from 1948 and OPEN THE BLOODY LOT!
😂
Some notably lines closed before 1948 like the Lynton and Barnstaple.
Unfortunately many lines/ stations have been built on.
@@cannyexplorer5357Knock it down then and relay it. Sorry biddies but Tesco is getting knocked down for a railway.
@@vicsams4431 Most of the Hull and Barnsley main line closed on Leap Year Day 1932. The railways in the Thanet area were reorganised even earlier, in 1926; Ramsgate Harbour was just one station closed, and that is why the present station is a long way out of the town. If you go back further still, some stations were closed "as an economy measure" in the First World War, and they did not all reopen.
I think The Borders line should be reopened in its entirety from Edinburgh to Carlisle.
Although the line is very popular between Tweedbank and Edinburgh,two huge mistakes were made.
The first mistake was obviously not reopening the full length of the line. To get to Galashiels from Carlisle one has to rely on a two hourly bus journey.
The second mistake was the absolute short-sightedness of building a single track railway with passing loops between Edinburgh and Tweedbank. What is worse is the fact that new bridges which were built on that route were not future proofed for a double track railway.
I would also say the Dumfries to Stranraer line is a must for reopening.
Could not agree more, my local station is Eskbank and the train is always rammed so more capacity is badly needed. Also don't understand why it wasn't electrified. Classic Scottish government
I completely agree with this. For the Borders Line to be a viable alternative to the WCML it needs to be a lot faster and double track throughout. When I did it the junction off of the ECML was very slow. 15mph I’d say. Has it been improved?
The borders line was never supposed to rival any other line,its sole purpose was to give that part of the country a link to Edinburgh and beyond. Yes of course we would've liked it to be double track all the way but considering the initial estimates of usage its hardly surprising they only put in the bare minimum of infrastructure. The fact that it has been an unqualified success beyond anyone's wildest imagination only proves how pessimistic the government agencies were. Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing,you would hope they would open more lines because all the ones that have been reopened are successful..this one,the alloa line..the Bathgate line.. not to mention the various stations reopened on the Highland line and numerous others across the country. Train travel in Scotland is very popular..rebuild/reopen and the public will use it.
@@MrCmac731 I do see you point of view, but I think it should have been quite clear that this railway line was always going to be greatly utilized, I think a good compromise would have been to build all the stations with 2 platforms but keep the single track sections or just leave room for future upgrades but I doubt it will ever actually happen
@@nigelkthomas9501 There were plans for the junction to be improved but nothing has changed in reality
The coastal line between Exeter and Torquay is regularly closed due to weather related track and infrasstructure damage.Trains to Plymouth and onward to Penzance are curtailed by the closures.
Now that the Exeter to Okehampton section is up and running again it would make sense to reconnect the line between Okehampton and Gunnislake, thereby ensuring train services to Plymouth and through Cornwall are maintained
Network Rail seemed to ignore placing boulder armor off the beach at Dawlish. Other vital links like the North Wales Coast Road were extensively protected by imported granite.
Can’t believe that no-one’s mentioned the 11 miles between Skipton and Colne. Trackbed still intact and would restore a through route all the way from Leeds to Manchester.
Someone has indeed mentioned that in the comments- you’re completely right, it’d be a great reopening.
It would be a terrible reopening. Leeds already has 2 through routes to Manchester. It would still be quicker from Skipton to get to Manchester going via Leeds. There is no capacity for more trains down the aire valley into Leeds
@@josephowen4732 Much of the line was quadruple track, certainly from Leeds to Shipley. Reinstating the two extra tracks would provide extra capacity at the Leeds end, at least. Nobody would travel from Skipton to Manchester via Leeds; it is so indirect. If you had to drive from Skipton to Manchester, I bet you would never think of going via Leeds!
@@andrewtaylor5984 adding all the track in the world wouldnt help anymore trains arrive at Leeds. There is no more platform space. You struggle to send anymore freight down the aire valley as crossing the throat at Leeds is timetabling nightmare.
It currently takes 1hr 57 from skipton to manchester via leeds (this will improve with the trans pennine works going on) at a frequency of 4 an hour minimum. The time from colne to manchester is currently 1hr 35 minimum and would likely be near enough 2 hours at a frequency of 1tph. It just isnt needed, people only want it reinstalled to look pretty on a map, it actually takes away from the logical worthwhile reinstatements.
I see your point, but going by Leeds is very indirect, and, of course, one has to pay for the extra mileage. An indirect service from A to B is worse than useless. There are other destinations besides Manchester; there could be a link from Skipton to Preston via the East Lancashire towns.
THANK YOU for talking about this - no one in government has the foresight to improve links to NI by rail instead of road. As a student from NI who studied in England and avoids flying as much as possible for carbon reasons, I am well used to the 13 hour sail&rail detour via Glasgow. This line would be a godsend. Think expresses and sleepers to England etc. Freight would be more difficult (all Ireland rail review has ruled out a rail link to Belfast harbour) but there is a large amount of unaccompanied freight on the boat which could easily be shifted to rail. While I’m sure it would be physically possible to link Belfast Port to the rail network, the port of Larne might be more cost effective if the line was improved.
British Rail has a different gauge from Northern Ireland.
@@andrewtaylor5984 i dont think anyone is saying you would send the trains, you would send shipping containers which currently get transported by rail or road
It wouldn't be a stretch to redesign Larne harbour for Rail Freight as the terminating station is 100m from the boat already.
The only concerns would be how deep Larne port is might limit cargo ship size and the port itself Isn't massive and don't have the room to expand. I could see the need for upgrading the single line which might lead to other problems. Also since the Greenisland to Antrim line has been pulled up (there were plans to convert to a greenway linking Greenisland to Monkstown) all rail traffic would either have to stop around Whiteabbey and reverse, or continue through Belfast and use the Lisburn to Antrim link to access Derry, Coleraine and Portrush (the link reopening was part of the strategic rail review)
Personally tho focusing on Dublin to Holyhead makes a lot more sense. It opens up the whole of Ireland for Freight not just part of the North. Plus anything coming from Europe can go via channel tunnel, and across North Wales an already busy cargo route. North Wales also sits fairly well to link Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and beyond as well as the south. The strategic rail review has proposed upgrading and electrifying the Dublin to Belfast line which would benefit fright immensely and adding a branch to Derry from Portadown.
@@Javadamutt Valid points made, getting either Larne or Belfast to work for freight would be difficult. Although, having been on the A77 a few weeks ago and seeing the levels of HGV traffic, I think the argument is there to do freight modal shift of this route AS WELL as at Dublin Port. Especially after the Windsor framework with the green lane etc. a lot of supermarkets ship from GB to NI via Cairnryan to avoid customs procedures in ROI.
@@legoinventions6056 Makes sense to route through Scotland to avoid border issues.
I need to brush up on where things are (obligatory F the DUP and the chaos they have caused) but I thought some level of paperwork was required to get stuff to NI regardless and most checks were still suspended? Maybe more paperwork along with checks if they go through the south. Either way stock and variety has significantly declined here since Brexit. For example Lidl stocking Sainsbury and Asda brands.
I do think that a multi pronged approach is required. Mich like Scotland, rail in NI is sorely lacking. The strategic rail review plans, assuming everything gets the go ahead, will take until 2050 to complete
Those I can think of:
Skipton - Colne
Ivanhoe Line
Uckfield - Lewes
Stratford-upon-Avon - Honeybourne
Walsall - Lichfield
Market Harborough - Northampton
Melton Mowbray - Nottingham (Tram-train)
Leamside & Stillington Lines in the North East
Wensleydale Line full connection between Northallerton - Garsdale
Full reopening of the Borders Railway to Carlisle
Line out to Stocksbridge from Sheffield (possible Tram-train)
And so many other routes, most of these being "missing link" type of reopening where they would boost capacity and improve service. Now that HS2 is sadly being cancelled, even though it's unlikely to happen as the tories and Keir Starmer's labour couldn't give a toss about the railways, it would be great to see investment put into such schemes that would provide tangible improvement to the rail system in this country
Skipton to Colne is a great one.
Sadly, you're probably right. I don't know if we'll ever see any of these reopen, but we can make the case.
I live in Skipton so Skipton to colne would be amazing especially because the only bus between the two runs hourly and the last bus from Skipton to colne is at about 7pm on a weekday. So then I’d have to make a massive detour via keighley that just isn’t worth it. That could be avoided by a cheap connection between Skipton and colne.
@@JoeTW67 No such thing as a cheap connection, that's part of the problem.
@@simonpitt8145 i suppose nothings cheap these days
The Leamside line is in the North-East, County Durham to be precise.
Barnstaple to Torrington including Barnstaple to Ilfracombe. North Devon has suffered badly from rail closures.
The problem was one of regional boundaries. These closed lines were originally Southern Region, previously Southern Railway. At the beginning of 1963, all Southern Region lines west of Salisbury were transferred to the Western Region, who just wanted to get rid of the lines it had acquired. If you look at a railway map of Devon and Cornwall today, you will see that several former Great Western branches still survive, whereas all that exists of the Southern Railway is Exeter to Barnstaple Junction, Exeter to Exmouth, and Plymouth to Gunnislake, and on that line trains take the Great Western route out of Plymouth; the Southern route was closed in 1964, when a link was built at St Budeaux. Okehampton has finally been reopened; the railway remained open for freight to and from Meldon Quarry, a few miles west of Okehampton.
As someone who has lived most of their life in Scotland,but whose late father was a Devon man i'll drink to that,its a lovely county,not the only one I like in England either,it has quite a few.
Now HS2 is dead a direct route from the East Midlands to Manchester can easily be reinstated by reopening the Matlock to Buxton (Great Rocks) section closed int he 1960's (surprise surprise) only 13 miles long it was the Midland Railway main line.
It was not even scheduled for closure under Beeching! In 1963 it was the main route from London to Manchester while the Euston Main Line was being electrified.
Not enough dosh for developers in lt,give us the money ! Preferably tax payers,governments make it open ended,ther are few comebacks.
I would reopen the line from Barnstaple to bideford(as Torridge[the part of Devon where bideford is located] was discontinued from the railway when beaching swung his axe)
James May and Oz Clarke reopened it for a day, in OO gauge.
Yeah, I did see that one.
Beeching didn't swing his axe. Marples did and after him Barbara Castle went further
@@andrewcowling5804 I was using a common phrase which most people used to describe the 1963 reshaping of British railways report, but I do understand where it is you’re coming from, I’m sorry if I upset you in any way, I was only responding to the question at the end of the video.
Look up Earnest Marples, minister of transport (Beeching's boss). No polite comment; a crook to the max!
The Woodhead route (Manchester to Sheffield) really should never have closed. If opened today it’d certainly relieve the strain on ‘Hope Valley’.
Rode on that line once. Very smooth ride
It should have been converted to 25Kv AC an ideal freight and diversionary route. Sadly it’s probably lost forever as the tunnels are now used for electricity cables.
The fast link between South Yorkshire and Manchester is needed to match the TRU just as in West Yorkshire. The Hope Valley Line through the Derbyshire Peak District is not the answer as it is indirect and slow.
@@winco68 The cables can be ripped out !
I rode this line many times before it closed. Closing a line such as that with links through to Sheffield Victoria was a disgrace. That station has gone now too.
With the debacle of Beeching, all lines closed after the 60s should have been mothballed in readiness for future reinstating.
Where I am in West Sussex, there are so many lines that were closed, trains are rare apart from London to Brighton. There could be a great line reinstated between Three Bridges, just south of Gatwick and taken back across through to Kent. The amount of road traffic that would save would be massive.
@@mirvids5036 Yes of course the cables can be ripped out but then what? They have to be put somewhere else! Another tunnel would have to be bored to accommodate them and it’s all cost. That’s the problem financial viability. Even if we get a pro rail government with all the will in the world to replace these missing lines without firm assurances of predicted guaranteed income returns over short/medium term they simply won’t happen.
Borders railway was an example of underestimating the viability where the expectation was for only about 40% of the passengers it actually attracted and was seriously under capacity with single track, short trains etc it should have been double track throughout with potential for expansion, extension and the addition of freight. But that seemed to be an exception to the rule because there was no other railway near it that could be upgraded.
With the Woodhead Route the question would be ‘Why do we need a fourth trans pennine rail corridor in the North?’ The solution would be to upgrade the track and signalling of the Hope Valley Line and increase the track speed and use that instead.
I’ve seen it happen in the North East with the Leamside Line in Co Durham. For 30 years it stood idle then when pressure came to open it due to lack of capacity on the ECML the government gave money to Network Rail to upgrade the Durham Coast Line and they just used that instead.
An old line will never be reinstated if there’s one nearby that can be upgraded.
Personally I'd to see the line between Bourne End and High Wycombe to be reopened.
Crossrail into High Wycombe would be achievable.
How so?
@@nicholasjones9705 if Bourne End to High Wycombe was reopened.
@@garethhenshaw I was born there, I remember when the line closed! From last time I was there, there are two, maybe 3 bits that I think would be problematic, the rest of it is still an obvious railway trackbed. Opposite Bourne End station there's a little industrial estate built on what I assume was the old goods yard, but I don't think laying track would affect more than one or two buildings. I think the old bay platform for the Marlow Donkey at Bourne End is a gonner for good, but maybe it could be recreated somehow if it's even necessary? The next problem is at Wooburn Green where houses have been built on & opposite the old station site, (the former was still a private house complete with platforms etc last time I was there in person), but you could easily just move the trackbed slightly west for half a mile or so & go round the new develoipment. Then at Treadaway Hill the old railway tunnel under the motorway is there, but there's a steel frame industrial building right in front of it that would need the chop & relocation. Then it's OK all the way to joining the main line at High Wycombe (there's a rat run that uses the old trackbed right at the last gasp in High Wycombe, but only because it can).
@@fat_biker youll have to compulsory purchase the loudwater industrial estate in order to get to high wycombe as that is the location of loudwater station it was removed and built on fully to the point on one side of the road a building sits on the alignment and looking ther other way you can see the railway bed and ive followed that pathway and it goes all the way to high wycombe having it link up with the stations island platform would probably be the best thing for a reconstituted railway line here.
another thing id suggest that bourne station have a minor relocation so instead of one line terminating from high wycombe there that it becomes a through station for the existing line that runs occationally to bourne end thus it probably becomes more viable and the site of the old station would make for a decent car park with a bus bay area.
oh i forgot to mention that some of the line was infilled and a school was built on it loudwater academy previously known as loudwater primary.
My three votes would go for
1) Braintree to Bishops Stortford diverted to Stansted Airport. When the line was closed, the Dept of Housing moved thousands from Barking to Great Dunmow only to find the Dept of Transport shut the railway first. It was very disjointed. In those days, Stansted Airport had not taken off and inclusion of a north to west curve at Witham, would allow trains from big cities like Colchester and Ipswich to reach the airport. Most of the trackbed is still in situ.
2) Sudbury to Cambridge. This route was very hard fought by the locals and deeply mourned. It would join Colchester to Cambridge and link villages that have since become major towns like Haverhill. Again almost all the trackbed is still in situ.
3) Kings Lynn to Hunstanton. This line served the Sandringhsm Estate and the locals have kept every station (except Hunstanton which was bulldozed) in the hope of it reopening. As well as helping the local communities, Hunstanton is a popular seaside resort and traffic would be boosted by tourism. The trackbed is almost complete except for where the A149 nicked bits.
I travelled on that line as far as Long Melford two weeks before closure; it was my first visit to Cambridge. The M11/A505 rebuilding (NOT improvement) has severed the trackbed at Pampisford.
Thanks for your advice. It closed @ 1968 (?) But I used the original station at Sudbury before the line was cut back. I have walked the trackbed from Ashdon to Bartlow and I climbed into the Signalbox at Bartlow when it was still accessible. I have also visited the station at Clare.
I think we’re talking ‘pie in the sky’ here!
There’s more chance of seeing Lord Lucan riding on Shergar at Aintree than any of this happening!
Or even at Hurst Park- a closed racecourse not far from Hampton Court which now has a housing estate built on it!
Any infrastructure investment is a ‘pie in the sky’ with this Government. That won’t stop me making my own suggestions though!
@@GWVillager Gimme Da Dosh !
Plenty more Roads and Tacky Developments Though ! Gimme Da Money.
@@GWVillagersuperb compilation, agree with much of this, love your positivity 👍
A better link to Carnryan would be good but taking freight to NI might prove tricky. UK and NI have different rail gauges so youd have to unload from rail at one side and reload on the other.
The other link that needs re-opening is from Tweedbank via Hawick towards Carlisle. This might me re-routing the line to join with the west coast mainline at Gretna would finish of the reopening of the Waverly line.
Reopening the "Port Road" to Stranraer would be great, but I'd prioritise the Waverley route, right through to Carlisle.
Meanwhile, the old Port Road makes an excellent walking and cycling track between Mossdale and Gatehouse of Fleet station.
Penrith to Keswick in the Lake District is an obvious one to me. This line survived Beeching but was run down by BR to such an extent that closure became inevitable by 1972. Much of the infrastructure still exists too.
Might be more successful as a tourist attraction as a heritage railway ?
It used to be a through route to Workington. The whole line was subject to closure under Beeching, and the line west of Keswick closed in 1966, whilst the rest survived as a (very) basic railway for almost six more years. The only chance of survival would have been to keep the whole line open. Unfortunately, most of the trackbed west of Keswick lies under a realigned A66, and that was a highly controversial scheme in seventies Britain.
@@andrewtaylor5984 Ho,Ho, Ho. Not wanted for a road surely !
i live in AYR further up the coast from stranrarer and cairnryan etc, and for years the local population including me have been crying out for a better rail link to the port, about 10 years ago i worked in the opencast coal industry in scotland and a large amount of our coal was sent to ireland so had anywhere from 20 to 30 trucks a day transporting coal to cairnryan onto the ferry, so yes i agree with this video 100%
I think the Borders railway which currently runs from Edinburgh to Tweedbank should continue to Carlisle. The line also would benefit greatly from increased capacity as overcrowding is common on this line. There are several large towns in the borders such as ;Kelso, Coldstream,Hawick and Jedburgh to name a few which are at least 50 miles from the nearest railway station so these large towns could be connected via branch lines of the main Edinburgh - Carlisle line
have you looked on the map to see where these towns are in relation to the borders line. the coldstream line. essentially from Boswels to Tweedmouth line was closed by the LNER IN 1930 because it was so unprofitable that no matter what they tried, involving using buses. they never got it to pay let alone make a profit. that was in the days before H&S made things so much more expensive. it wouldnt pay now. even if a feeder line from Jedbourgh was included
@@andrewcowling5804 That is not correct. The Berwick to St Boswells line was a Beeching casualty, closing in 1964. Until the mid-fifties, there were just four trains each way. The service was then halved, and several intermediate stations closed. The line also suffered in 1948; when the East Coast Main Line was closed for ten weeks, most main-line traffic was diverted via Kelso, so the local trains had to be cut. The line was also largely worked by steam to the end.
@@andrewcowling5804 Jedburgh Station was a branch terminus off the Berwick to St Boswells line. It started at Roxburgh Junction. Passenger trains were withdrawn in August 1948 after the Borders floods. The line was repaired, but passenger trains were never restored. Freight traffic lasted until c1964.
The line should never have been closed in the first place,closed1969 by a Labour government to boot.
Wonder if the fact the areas it runs through in Scotland are predominatly Torie. There has oft been suspicions of The Kilmacolm line closed in the eighties by Strathclyde Region despite reasonable patronage.
Closure of the Waverly Route,with no attempt at modernisation,leave some of Scotlands biggest towns more than thirty miles from a railway,close a direct route to Carlise and The South, - FALSE ECONOMY. I have never voted Torie in me life incidentaly,age seventy.
Marks Tey/Sudbury to Cambridge via Haverhill. For an area so built up and connected by road it is very difficult to access the rest of the country by rail from the anglia main line. Also there is no bus route between haverhill and great yeldham so there is no way of getting to one of the most important cities in the area without a 2-3 hour detour via london or ipswich
If you read my entry, you will see two great minds think alike !
Dumfries to Stranraer - what a massive boost to the area where there's no railways at all. Having lived southwest of Castle Douglas, it was so poorly served for public transport. Just an FYI - Dalbeattie is pronounced Dall'beet'ee
The Waverley route in entirety is a must.
Dumfries to Lockerbie. It could have a rail link to Edinburgh and beyond.
Beattock and Moffat. The only way to get to Lockerbie is via two buses (X74, 81) that runs for ages.
Edit: the latter is outdated
Dumfries to Stranraer is certainly desirable - and not just on this side of the Irish Sea, I shouldn't imagine; and maybe even if it involves losing the line circuitous route south of Girvan, as most of the Glasgow - NI passenger traffic now flies, or sails via Troon. But the Cairnryan branch is even more urgent - and your idea of a new, Parkway-type station on the edge of Stranraer will serve it just as well as the old Harbour station! Even as we speak, the rarely-used Mauchline line is sitting there, poised for the freight to start flowing again. It's a no brainer, really! Glastonbury & Street is also a nice idea, but for a yearly festival, run by a farmer nearing retirement age - that was for long the only one of its type but which is now one of many worthy projects? If money were no object, perhaps....
Reopen worcester Stourbridge Dudley Walsall Bownhills Lichfield Alrewas Burton Derby. Idral for passengers but more particularly for freight trains.
Well, in my part of the world, I would certainly like to see the link between Uckfield and Lewes restored. Closer to home the line from Shoreham Junction to Christs Hospital and its counterpart, the line north from Christ's hospital to Guildford. Unhelpfully, rather than preserve the route, Horsham Council have just buit a new estate on the Shoreham to Christ's Hospital route just outside Southwater.
If you think the money available from failing to complete HS2 will be spent on anything significantly more than 100 miles from London you are living in the clouds. The remainder will be flittered away on very small infrastructure projects to benefit marginal Conservative parliamentary seats such as more roundabouts planted with daffodils for the so-called beautification of South East London suburbs.
1:10 sorry mate I think you might have pricked your finger and fallen into, The Cloud, Thirteen years of tory austerity does tend to eff a(UK)Islands economy, Oh and Thatcher's garage sale of the Countries Infrastructure, Bless her cotton socks, Started the Ball rolling,
Track gauge in Ireland is 5'3" not UK standard gauge so difficult to justify a train ferry from Cairnryan to Belfast
I think, although it is very rural, the Mid-Wales railway would be an interesting one to open - especially if it is continued to the South Wales valleys via Merthyr Tudful - the reason why I think this is important is mainly connectivity in Wales - it takes a long time to travel through Wales and is impossible to go through Wales by train. By having the Mid Wales line open it would connect with the Cambrian line near Newtown and connect the towns of Llanidloes, Rhaedr, Builth, Brecon, and then on to Merthyr Tudful, giving a viable North-South link, restoring rail links to Llani, Rhae, Builth and Brecon, and relieving pressure on the mountain roads
Even more useful would be reopening the Pontypool to Neath line, across the heads if the valleys. Unfortunately, it would cost a small fortune to build a new Crumlin Viaduct. (But look what the French did at Millau, even though that viaduct carries a road.)
Gareth Dennis dedicated one of his RailNatter livestreams to this, based on population data: ruclips.net/video/Xjy21vMtrfo/видео.html (runtime 1:35:36)
I have just turned 48, I fully agree with you about the lines mentioned in this video, but thh, if and when i turn 75, we will still be talking about it.
Cranleigh to Guildford! So much building and rubbish buses and crowded roads.
As much as I would love alot of routes to re open with the Political climate we have I can't see it happening ,other than in the home counties ,Scotland and in election manifestos 😂
There would be massive tourism benefit on the Dumfries/Stranraer line. The forest hills north of that are amazing, potentially as lovely an area for outdoors lovers as the lakes. And the Scottish riviera already has arts, crafts and food. I should know. I've walked it a bit and suffered the complicated multi bus journies from Edinburgh.
There's more political hope than you think if you remember to appeal to the Scittish Parliament. A far more rail positive assembly than the UK at present.
@@RollerbazAndCoasterDad Scittish Parliament is the right word ! There was many Scots up for Railway land for 'Development Opportunity,' at the time as English. I was young at the time and walking the recently closed lines with my mates, one since reopened which was an act of madness to close,was the Glasgow Central Low Level Railway.
Dumfries and Galloway are being mooted as a National Park so reopening the Port Road makes sound sense
I think the route is an excellent choice for all the reasons you say, and it might be possible to arrange for a terminal/storage facility at the end of new part by the ferry. I find it's usually cheaper/better to relocate an old line on the original route generally, especially if the old route opposite the possible tunnel could have one or two useful stops. The bother with a few minimal acquisitions in town is nothing compared to HS2 going through every golf course and grave yard they could find. I'm not familiar with the line but do a lot of the same kind of speculation in the Western Hemisphere. (Google earth is helpful because if you read the elevations in feet it's a lot more exact that meters, so you have a survey for free, which can be corroborated with topo maps, but it's much more detailed and accessible. It's also "possible" to make fairly accurate depictions of your intentions railwise, with headings down to the 2nd decimal ((and farther if you measure it, assuming it's long enough to matter.)) England is about 50 or 60 years behind us in the US as far as rail destruction goes - we invented it, as a racket, about 1945, and now it's spreading internationally. The Beaching Cuts? That's nothing compared to having actual racketeers in control of the railroads, but it is symptomatic of the same mindset. England was just more resistant to it than us.
I don't know what to tell you to do about that. It's very difficult to make people interested in your talk of curves and grades because, if it's like here, 'rail culture' is dead. Even rail foamers/fanatics, or train buffs, find all that business of civil engineering boring and unimportant, whereas it's the only thing that matters. All they like is steam engines ...freight trains, and some, rarely, luxury trains. The same is true of the politicians, and that's why these rail design professionals are able to get away with willfully dooming their planned "improvements" from the start. It helps to own for all practical purposes what we call administrative agencies like the Federal Railroad Administration too, which they do. I'm not saying it's possible, but to get after the big international (generally US based or originated) consultants who caused the insane circuitousness with grinding around loopy high speed curves and tunnels ad infinitum, and the continual dithering with change orders + so on, and the unnecessary excavations in a huge radius around that station by the library in London, and putting Birmingham on a spur instead of on the/a main line where it belongs, should be called to account. (and pay to the point of their own destruction rather that of the system of transportation) There is a form of lawsuit called respondeat superior so you don't have to insult anyone that you don't intend to collect money from, but is it possible they're really that dumb? I doubt it. Still it's nice to give them the benefit of the doubt.
A very insightful comment, thank you. I do hope that things will get better, and I'm sure they will one day. But it will take a lot of work.
@@GWVillager Frankly I don't know if work would help now. It would take a lot of money to go off on one's own tangent, or sue: you have to have lawyers, experts. Can only watch it go by. Notably Brightline in Florida is the most dangerous stretch of track in the country, maybe the world. They knew that would happen, so now they get megabucks for this somewhat ludicrous HS line in California. It's not a temporary thing: Etched in stone and steel of practical permanence.
@@brucehain I have learned from childhood and an early intrest in railways to becoming a senior, - 'follow the money,' in most things !
I Think All Train Services That Were Removed Because of The Beeching Cuts Should Re-open To The Public
East Lincolnshire Line MUST be re-opened so does the MAGN
idk what MAGN is, but looking up The East Lincolnshire Line it does seem very good. Connects 2 notable locations via small coastal towns (or near them at least) seems a great plan, maybe not my first pick unless I'm missing something but a really good one.
@@sterlinghartley2165 MAGN most likely refers to the old Midland & Great Northern Railway route between Little Bytham/Peterborough and Norwich/Great Yarmouth, which closed in 1959.
Insufficient population to justify it in East Lincolnshire. And as to reopening the M&GN you are having a laugh 😂
Far too much of the M&GN has built over. Forget it.
HS2 isn’t dead just yet. Birmingham Crewe is still working through parliament, and has good cross party support. Crewe Manchester is also passing through parliament and requires a full debate and vote to stop.
Obvious one I always say is the Woodhead line between Manchester and Sheffield, yes Sheffield Victoria isn't open but I personally think Sheffield could do with a second station.
Dalbeattie is pronounced dalbeetee not dalbetty
Other than that a great video!
Grew up in Street, so I can get behind this. The bus to Bristol is sooo slow. I think a link to Bridgwater or Highbridge would be worthwhile too though
If there are problems with transport in Bristol, the Midland approach to the city, via Mangotsfield, should be reopened, and one then might as well reopen the Mangotsfield to Bath link, as a prelude to reopening the Somerset and Dorset. The Midland approach to Bristol was closed only because Temple Meads Station and the surrounding area was being resignalled, and closing the Midland route led to "simplification." At the same time, the GW approach was reduced from quadruple to double track, but I gather that the other two tracks have now been reinstated.
@@andrewtaylor5984 I would be able to get behind that and a second route between Bristol and Bath like before couldn't kill either. It's a very busy corridor and I wouldn't mourn the Sainsbury's car park that's taken up much of the station space at Green Park
@@grassytramtracks At least Green Park Station survived, although it was derelict for several years. An earlier generation of planners would have demolished it. The line could have paid its way notwithstanding the climb through the Mendips. In the early to mid seventies, Bristol to Bournemouth was the most lucrative coach service in the country not serving London.
Totton to Fawley in Hampshire. It could considerably reduce commuter traffic into Southampton.
The line already exists and the subject gets raised from time to time, but nothing ever gets done.
Three Rivers Community Rail Partnership was an advocate of this scheme, but I've just had a look at its website and there's no longer any mention of the Waterside Line.
Did I hear the train announcer at the end
if I was to reopen a station it would be Rolleston-on-dove train station
Mate the Glastonbury festival takes place in the village of Pilton which is south of shepton mallet so any train track up that way would go vie shepton. For one there is a rather large brewery which would handly use the rail infrastructure to expand there business.
Oh not to mention this silly plan of your completely miss out Wells which unlike Glastonbury, Shepton Mallet and Street is in fact a city and the de facto capital of the region. In fact frankly any railway would probably end short of Glastonbury because no one wants give the Glastonbury loons a chance to spread.
The final nail in the coffin of your argument would be that this proposed train route would be slower and more expensive than the existing bus route from Bristol…
You know it’s never ever going to happen 😂
Dumfries to Stranraer, to reopen that train line would makes the A75 safer for all road users. Travelling along that road after the ferry arrives is a nightmare.
I would reopen the Spen Valley Line in West Yorkshire and provide a cross city link in Bradford to the Forster Square Station.
if you re open stranraer - dumfries line, reopen the line from Kirkcudbright to Castle Douglas as well as the other branch line that was on the stranraer - dumfries line
What puts me off travelling to mainland by Ferry as someone from Belfast, is the sheer lack of rail connections. Much rather fly, even if I want to go on the train, I’d take the train to Dublin then to Holyhead and train from there, there is only 2 services a day running from Stranraer, neither in conjunction with ferry times. The bus puts me off
I went to Michael Wood services on the M5 in June. At 10 o'clock a.m., the services were very unusually packed and I realised after some time that nearly all the occupants were from Glastonbury, the Festival having just finished on that day. A rail line to Glastonbury would clearly alleviate very heavy traffic, as on that day, on the motorway and I am sure that those who were conscious of global warming from motor vehicles would use it. Most vehicles were diesel.
Festival are always great for train to serve, there an example of where parking is always going to be really impractical.
Burton upon trent to Leicester Line via Coalville and Ashby?
Okehampton to Bere Alston in West Devon, thus reinstating the old Waterloo-Exeter-Plymouth route providing an alternative route to the Southwest of England, reconnecting Tavistock on the network, and ,more importantly, being a route avoiding the total dependance on the only rail connexion to the Southwest along the weather vulnerable GWR route at Dawlish.
That was a huge loss.
The Bere Alston to Tavistock section is already on the government's list following the HS2 cancellation.
There is also considerable container freight traffic between northern cities and Cairnryan currently via road transport and the M6
Colne to Skipton and double track from Colne to Rosegrove should be a must as the track bed is largely intact, and would show the government are serious about levelling up!!!
Interesting video. I think the most important projects should be Dumfries to Stranraer with an extension to Cairnryan, and reopening the Waverley line in its entirelym, reinstating the closed section between Galashiels and Carlisle.
I live in Mid Somerset and have different ideas about reopening the railway to Glastonbury. There is already a railway from Witham Junction near Frome almost as far as Shepton Mallet, the first part being Mendip Rail for the quarry at Downhead which is continued on the East Somerset Railway at Cranmore. It would be difficult to rebuild along the original route to Wells as the railway used to cross the trunk A37 road on the level and I don't think anyone would want the reinstatement of the level crossing at this point. But the railway could be realigned southwards around the town and rejoin the original route to Wells behind the present day Tesco superstore. The new alignment would pass close to a large industrial estate and quite possibly Gregorys and other major traffic producers could be encouraged to move some of their business to rail. At Wells the line of the railway has been built on but it could be reinstated on the west side of the bypass and join the long-closed Somerset and Dorset branch to Glastonbury. All three towns in Mid Somerset would then be connected to the rail network. Glastonbury Festival would not have a train station but the festival is only held once a year and the line would only be a mile away from Pilton. The line would also benefit the Bath and West Showground, if the new station at Shepton Mallet had plenty of shuttle buses when there is a major event on.
I haven't forgotten about the East Somerset Railway, which is a long-established undertaking and could be trusted to share the track between Cranmore and Shepton Mallet if it had its own platforms in both places and run trains to the same rules as the many main line steam-hauled excursion trains on the current rail network.
Cairnryan had a railway connected to Stranraer, The Cairnryan Military Railway.
Carnryan was Military Port No 2, Faslane on the Clyde being No 1. They existed in event of ports further south being neutralised by enemy action.
personally, I'd like to see the Barnsley-Doncaster line reopened (allowing a direct interchange with the East Coast Main Line), though intermediate stops would be difficult as the line has been built over in the two largest towns on the route, Wombwell and Wath upon Dearne
another good idea to my mind would be reopening the Doncaster-Worksop line, as the track is still in place, and it would serve Maltby and Dinnington, two of the worst connected towns in South Yorkshire; it could be combined with an express route between Worksop and Sheffield, and the existing all-stops route between Sheff and Donny, forming a circular route like the Leeds-Knottingley-Wakefield route in West Yorkshire
Whilst we are in that part of the country, reopen the Midland Main Line through Normanton, Cudworth, and Wath, another line not included in the Beeching Report.
Dumfries to Stranraer used to be known as the Paddy line, certainly reopening it would be useful as it would take much of the strain off the A75 trunk road but I doubt very much it will happen anytime soon.
A fair amount of infrastructure had disappeared within two or three years after the line closed, mostly to realign the A75.
@@andrewtaylor5984as happened on many closed lines, by the powers that be, to stop it being reopened in the future…
Shoreham - Steyning- Southwater - Horsham
The line between Bishop’s Stortford and Braintree would be a good candidate for reopening. It would finally get rid of the awkward massive gap between the two core Greater Anglia networks and make a lot of journeys across Essex much more viable. Plus practically the whole line and most of the stations have been preserved as a walking trail, so it would be very achievable.
Before they reopen Stranraer-Dumfries, they really need to build a railway from Dunragit to Cairnryan for a direct connection to the ferry.
Rather than closing the line to Stranraer Harbour as you suggest (which would mean a longer walk from the station into the town), I would simply rebuild the station closer to Port Rodie. This option was proposed by SAYLSA (Now the South-West Scotland CRP) back in 2011. Some have suggested reopening the old Stranraer Town station, but it was no closer to the town than the harbour station.
During the current parliament, my money is on Waterside Line (Southampton to Fawley), and Ivanhoe Line (Leicester to Burton on Trent via Coalville and Ashby de la Zouch). Business case for both schemes is likely to focus on helping to address UK's housing goals, A major obstacle to Ivanhoe Line reinstatement is the missing Knighton North Curve, south of Leicester on the Midland Main Line. Replacing this curve would mean acquiring the southeastern corner of Freeman's Common Trading Estate. The third scheme that might (and should) get funding is Tavistock to Bere Alston. I comment on this elsewhere. Reinstatement of this part of the Northern Route would generate positive political capital for the Labour government, as did the Okehampton reconnection. I am aware of most (if not all) of the other UK proposals, and consider these three to be the most likely to receive funding.
I would suggest the old Midland and Great Northern Joibt Railway for avoiding London freight traffic from the Midlands and North along with serving Lical passenger services.
Some interesting thoughts, also some worthwhile comments. So many lines closed in the 50s/60s should never have closed. They certainly should not have been pulled apart and destroyed the way they were. It was criminal that the routes were not left in situ for future reassessment. But unfortunately, we are now left with a railway not fit for purpose. Train cancellations, late running, total unreliability of the whole network. Levelling up has already been achieved, there’s as much chance of finding your train cancelled from Margate to Manchester. The railway culture has been lost so it’s going to be difficult to persuade anyone to reopen lines unless we can first sort out what we have.
Still live in hope. 🏔️🚴♂️👣🇺🇦
All the protagonists are passed,they did not care then so long as they made money,they certainly do not care now
Behold the dystopean nightmare bestowed. Money was made, Joe Public conned, somewhat successfully.
The Great Central should be reopened, including the Woodford Halse to Banbury line. This would provide a north to south service to almost anywhere in the country, without the need to go to London. The line could have been used as the basis for HS2, using the Woodford to Stratford line, ( the old S&MJ route) then the existing GW line to Birmingham. This would have saved millions. Also reinstate the four tracks on the GW main line into Birmingham, and make the Rugby to Birmingham line four-track throughout. Reopening the Great Central would give Nottingham a station right in the City Centre. Reopening the Woodhead line gives extra capacity between Sheffield and Manchester. There is no need to build a new line linking Manchester and Leeds. Reopen the Micklehurst loop, and the two single track Standedge Tunnels. There was once a four-track main line from there to Huddersfield, and reopening the Gildersome line provides another route to Leeds.
Trying to repair the damage inflicted by Dr Beeching all those years ago...
He did more damage to our railways than the Luftwaffe.
@@vicsams4431 You could be right there. Whilst a great deal of rolling stock was lost, thanks to Hitler, only eight locos were damaged beyond repair.
I would build a loop through to Glasgow Central via Stranraer, Cairnryan Harbour to Girvan and continue trains through to Ayr, Prestwick Airport, and on to Paisley Gilmour Street and Glasgow Central. This could help reverse the decline of Prestwick Airport.
Why am I not surprised that the “reinvested” HS2 money went on projects that had already been announced. I was already disappointed when over half of what he said was road widening, so I highly suspected this “reinvestment” was really a clever way to save a bit on already-extant announcement obligations. Tories really don’t want to change before the election, do they? Same old policies, 60-70 years on.
It is disgraceful, really. As if the cancellation of our flagship infrastructure wasn’t enough, there is very little in the “Network North” (which is neither a network nor Northern) that’s actually new.
@@GWVillager straight out of the Boris Johnson playbook, announcing hospital renovations as brand new hospitals and so forth.
Course,development is where the money is,especially when you are in a position to get your hands on taxpayers cash its a money tree !
1ST YAY!
I know very little about the areas and I still enjoyed the video and understood the case for opening.
Pie in the sky. The government will not spend money improving services between major cities, dream on with your backwater villages.
Very much agree. A great circle - Bristol, Bath, Frome, Shepton, Wells, Glastonbury, Bridgwater, Weston, Yatton, Bristol would connect Somerset into Bristol and reconnect all those Somerset towns.
the line i really want to see reopen is Beverley to York line so we can fast train to York without needing to travel to hull first as well taking road traffic off the main road from Beverley to York as it one off the most dangers roads in country as well as very overcrowded
The Cuckoo Line from Uckfield to Lewes has been considered for re-opening for many years but nothing has been done for it. Most of the former route is walking paths. A connection like this would mean that people wanting to travel to Lewes or Uckfield don't have to go all the way up to London and back down again
This does feel like a prime candidate. Hopefully it could get somewhere if the ban on new 3rd rail is lifted.
I thought that the Lewes bypass severed the trackbed.
The "port road" from Dumfries to Stranraer has many obstacles to rebuilding.
Many bridges would need replacing and the big water of fleet viaduct is life expired.
Some (but not a great amount) of the trackbed has been built on and would need purchasing to remove things like Tesco superstores.
At the Stranraer end of the line, the ferry to Ireland moved out years ago and would need to move back from Cairnryan to give a passenger service any use of the railway.
Obviously some infrastructure would need replacing - that’s fine, some money will have to be spent. As I referred to in the video, I would extend the line North to Cairnryan and close the current Stranraer Harbour station.
You’re absolutely correct and the cost would be phenomenal. One of the major issues as well as a breached trackbed and construction upon a former tracked is a missing trackbed. Many new roads and the A75 is no exception have been built upon the former trackbed as the formation tends to be flatter and straighter and ideal for a new road.
This was deliberate and multi faceted as it not only made construction of the road much easier but it also made any potential for rail reinstatement much harder.
The Military Railway to Cairnryan was not lifted till1967/68.
@@winco68 If they were building a road any obstruction would be demolished,so was it in the sixties when many new roads were built.
my first line i would reopen if i had the power to do so .. would be Okehampton to Bere Alston.. also fully duel the line of the north Dartmoor. with a new Northern loop at Cowley Junction Over the rivers Creedy and Exe to save reversing at Exeter St Davids. also full OLU from Newbury to Plymouth VIA NORTH DARTMOOR. would probably need a new Meldon Viaduct next to the old one. New stations at Tavistock and Lydford for National trust and a new tram system via Lifton into Launceston using the Old GWR line where possible.
my 2nd line would be Wisbech to Colchester Via Cambridge linking Eastwest rail and greater anglia services into Liverpool street London.. Extending the line through Cambridge south new stations at Great Shelford Linton Haverhill Clare Long Melford and finally Sudbury at Sudbury move the Station into Station Car park and into Colchester. Single track with passing loops on-route. trains could have a half hourly service 1 to wisbech and one to KingsLynn from Colchester.
the marlebone to leamington line it would be good as the station at rugby is pretty much still there and most of the routes area is still in tact
You can now travel very efficiently and in an almost straight line between Marylebone and Leamington. Are you actually referring to the old Great Central London extension which ran to Rugby on its way up to Leicester and Sheffirld? Or maybe the LNWR line from Rugby to Leamington?
@@Maltloaflegrande the great central railway
The most obvious omission is the Carlisle to Galashiels line via Hawick connecting onto the new Borders Railway.
Bourne End (Bucks) to High Wycombe.
Oakhampton to Bere Alston via Tavistock
Great Central line - all of it!
Carmarthen to Aberystwyth
Afon Wen to Bangor via Caernarfon
On top of reopenings, trains must be fully automated, all lineside signalling and associated costs and reliability issues thus removed. We need guards on trains, not drivers. It's 2023, and if you wanted to create an automatic transport system, you'd design a railway! Automatic trains overcome driver shortages, and it makes all train sets fully available for any journey with no crew changes and shift limits to worry about. Humans are also terrible at driving trains (hence all the warning systems in the cab) so removing them would be a plus for safety.
Sadly, our railways can't run a drinks evening in a brewery, and their idea of project cost control is applied with the same rigour as a sailor in port on a Saturday night.
Northampton - Leicester (Via Market Harborough, of course). That one is a given.
Bradford - Wakefield.
I would reccomend the reopening of:
Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway
A station at Knowle to serve the mass of new developments there.
Reinstating lines from Fareham to Gosport and possibly a train ferry from Gosport to Portsmouth.
Meon Vallet Line from Alton to Portsmouth.
Haven't they got some sort of busway on the old Fareham to Gosport line? How well is that going?
@@simonpitt8145 It works mostly OK but is still not particularly effective or nice. It'd be far better with a rail service again
Typical of this short sighted government to focus on the A75 instead of rebuilding the line to Stranraer/Cairnryan.
I like the Glastonbury and Street loop too.
The Carmarthen to Aberystwyth line needs rebuilding, as does a Brighton Mainl Line 2 link
If you’ve ever driven on the a75 you would understand why it needs upgraded I spend most of my working life dragging trailers to and from cairnryan on that road and while I agree a rail link to cairnryan would be beneficial the road is in dire need of upgrading its nice and scenic for a car driver however a 40mph speed limit for HGV’s for 100 miles with few overtaking opportunities limits the range of goods vehicles who have a range of 9h driving 3h of which is eaten up on the a75 if abiding by Scotland’s draconian speed limits. This is why the Irish government and Stena have been lobbying for years to get the 75/77 upgraded because it’s where the highest % of their goods movement occurs and it’s not fit for purpose. So unless you had modern day motorail for artics up there I think the road should take priority.
I live near newton stewart and the potential amount of lorry's a rail link could remove would be a bonus. Stranraer town station is just sitting abandoned.
We need to reopen the line from Carmarthen to Aberystwyth via Lampeter in mid west Wales the line from Caenarthen to Bangor in the north that would enable you people to travel the length f Wales from South to North through to Holyhead Angeles that connects to Northern Ireland across the Sea. This line should on never been closed by Beacham because at the moment you got catch a bus from Carmarthen to Aberystwyth. As the train line goes from Carmarthen to Shrewsbury in England then back to Aberystwyth that does not make sense especially as we no have to drive at 20 mph in Wales in the villages between the two main towns.
Dumfries - Stranraer was just beautiful. It was recreated in the Train Simulator game, if anyone wants a taster (~70% discount in the Steam summer & winter sales).
Id reopen the line between Carmarthen and Aberystwyth but i would slightly redirect the route to allow a new station in Cardigan. aswell as Aberystwyth to Bangor to make travel between South and North Wales quicker and better connect Wales. Id also reconnect porthcawl by rail.
You could have a station nearer to Stanraer, on a stub of the current line, which could be served by all trains. Build a wye so the train heads in, the driver changes ends and then the train departs to head north or east. Could also be used to turn steam locos running an excursion.
Seeing as we're already in fantasy territory, the Holmfirth branch would do decent numbers today if it still existed, relieving the congested A616 into Huddersfield. Sadly there's a missing viaduct and a load of large executive homes near the junction with the existing Huddersfield to Sheffield line at Brockholes.
The railway network needs to be rebuilt to the scale of 1960.
They bang on about carbon and Net Zero, well give us some fucking decent railway infrastructure!
Re open Buckingham to Verney junction to connect with the soon to be reopened Oxford Bletchley line.
The huge amount of the giant articulated trucks is not really suitable for Galloways road system. Would be cheaper to reopen line than try and blast more roads through the hard granite.
it should ultamately go to bristol airport and downtown bristol on it own line so all the havey busesa tucks that haul bamds and there gearcould be put on the train and that makeesrural road a lot cheaper to maintain.
should also make a companion video on new railways needed like a Dawlish bypass and where hsr is needed. because some of these likes are better off being replaced with a new alignment