Rural lines booming, says BBC report
 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14580224


Makes you wonder whether other lines like Keswick-Penrith, Blaenau-Bala etc wouldn't be equally prosperous if Beeching hadn't got them...

it sure does. Especially since rural bus services are now being abandoned, leaving anyone without a car stuck at home. Time for a major rethink, I reckon. :mad:

Entirely agree. Terrible traffic problems on the Keswick roads now, and virtually no usuable buses.

Might strengthen the case for the Fawley - Southampton line to be opened to passengers again

I mean all over the country; when the railways were closed in the 60s, they were REPLACED by 'bustitution'. Now, owing to cuts, and county councils withdrawing their subsidies, the sparce bus services which have struggled on are being whittled down to such a degree that the inhabitants in many locations previously served by rail, then bus, will have NO means of public transport whatsoever. In this age of supposedly trying to create a greener world, it seems that unless someone has at least one car, then it doesn't matter one fig what happens to them. We are TOLD how to save energy and resources by using public transport, which is then snatched away from us, or priced out of our reach. Those telling us how to live invariably drive cars, they're OK, the rest of us are not remotely important.
End of rant.
Yes, it would be good for the Fawley line to be reopened. And all the rest....

:):mad:

I'm pretty certain the lines mentioned in the BBC report are all subsidised by the local councils to some degree.

Certainly Derbyshire County County has a strong interest in the Matlock Line since roadworks along the A6 through the Derwent Valley are almost impossible particularly as a it is a World Heritage Area. Businesses are happy for their rates to go towards it as it facilitates tourism.

What you need then is to start a "Friends of the Fawley Line" and look for public support particularly from local businesses and then get the council involved.

Just a small point Dave, almost all of the replacement bus services in Beeching report failed in a relatively short space of time.

To be honest some Beeching closures were justified, similar things happened in France and Germany, but not on the Beeching savage scale though, and most of these corridors have been safeguarded for future transport use.

While is said it would be good to see it reopened, it wouldn't actually do ME much good, except I'd no doubt travel over it a couple of times. I'm not likely to set up a group either. My local railway (Gosport to Fareham) was closed in 1953, and within the last three years ANY chance of a reopening has gone completely, despite a really appalling road traffic problem.
All reopenings, and, dare I say it, REBUILDING of lines can only be to the advantage of many.
However, as I pointed out, that don't matter one bit to those with the power to authorize/finance these things. 'Convenience' is a word perhaps best confined to the archives; I can see someone discovering it in a long-lost dictionary many years from now:
" 'Convenience' I wonder what THAT means?"
"It says here it means 'toilet facility'"

I think 'Toilet Facility' describes it very well....:D

If it was 1953 it was before Beeching

However to reopen any line, its not enough to say it would be a good idea. Enough people have to get together and make a case. Local authorities then have a a duty to consider it. Finally a TOC will be happy to run it if it can can make even a small profit.

As it happens, EMT are tickled pink with the Matlock Line. That's why they've given such support to the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway and Peak Rail.

However the Matlock Line had always been toddling along. Perhaps a better example would be the Robin Hood (Worksop) Line.

Regarding the Robin Hood line, the general consensus in the North Notts area is that it would do more business if the Shirebrook to Ollerton branch was upgraded for passenger service.
The cost would not be excessive due to there still being existing coal traffic lines in situ.

As I have said before on this forum. When I see Oxford Bletchley and the Woodhead route re-opened I think we shall see real progress, but not before

This, I know, and don't blame beeching for THAT. And I'm sure that, at the time, it all made perfect sense to shut down so many lines as recommended by his report. However, as now, there was a a wild miscalculation as to whatever the future may hold; Housing needs have run amuk since then, and the capacity of roads to cope has been, to say the least, miserable. This has FAR from diminished over the years, and a great deal of what were then not much more than hamlets have grown into thriving towns, and the ability of the remaining transport system has failed to, for lack of a better expression, keep track of events.
There was far too much haste in selling off railway land, so major obstacles were put in the way of rectifying the situation even at an early stage.
Far-sightedness has NEVER been one of our greatest attributes; and should never have reached the stage whereby the local populace has to beg in order to have ANY means of getting in and out of their community.
OK, at that time, no-one expected (for whatever reason) that any communities would expand, but given the circumstances since our admission to the European Union, surely SOMEONE in authority could have foreseen the turn of events, and suggested plans to deal with the situation?
Answer? No.

A comparative (though NOT railway related) story springs readily to mind; a pub on The Hard, in Portsmouth, a local scrumpy house of ill repute, was demolished EVERYTHING but the rear walls, when someone discovered that it was a listed building. Hackles were raised, heads nearly rolled, and the ENTIRE (large) building had to be reconstructed, even though only the rear walls were original. It's been a thriving Berni Inns place ever since.

Same with railways; no-onr thinks it through until it's too late, and/or to expensive, to rectify. :mad:

HUm yes. THe branch lines mentioned all got revived by a tourist trade, and then some commuting occurred.

Oxford to Bletchley might reopen if petrol became really pricey. However it would tend to rely on commuters, one imagines and the railway has a particular problem even more so than the bus - it usually doesn't take you anywhere near your place of work.

See the latest issue of rail magazine, carries an article on Oxford Bletchley.

Cross Country services to Leicester direct from Southampton would be great I have to go via London at the moment

Marples and Beeching must be looking down from above and thinking...no laughing at 'look of the mess we've made'...vandlisation indeed, but we go on year in year out doing nothing about RAIL Reinstatement, both Parties too 'spineless' to possibly upset the oil based(road lobby) economy...pathetic:mad:

F.A.O. Dave Rowland:
Not getting involved in the debate Dave BUT
You don't know how lucky you are to have a Bernie Inn near you.
We lost ours way back in the 80's up here in'th North and I don't know why, they were brilliant. No fuss,Prawn Cocktail, Steak or Scampie,Black Forrest Gateau,Irish Coffee and after eight mints.What more could a man ask for!!!!!!.:mad::mad:

A man could ask for one to be in Gosport, not Portsmouth! (it's a half hour bus ride and a £2.70 ferry fare to get there).I've only ever been in it once, years ago. It's painted a disgusting colour - very offputting to a delicate stomach. Bring back Wimpey Bars, that's what I say! And ordinary, old fashioned PUBS, without loudscreen TV, kids, and interminable queues just to get a pint because everyone's ordering a meal for the whole neighbourhood....
Ooooh! :)