7 May 2007

GLOUCESTERSHIRE WARWICKSHIRE RAILWAY SUPPORTS ‘HONEYBOURNE LINE’ REOPENING PROPOSAL

Cheltenham-Stratford route listed by Transport 2000 for reopening

The independent sustainable transport lobby group, Transport 2000, has called for closed railway routes, including the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway (GWR) to be reopened in order to improve public transport and tackle railway overcrowding. Transport 2000 has called on the government to protect former railway routes from re-development so they can eventually be reinstated and has drawn up a list of lines that should be considered for reopening.

The GWR is at the top of the list of: ‘reopenings to create strategic and interregional links’.

Chairman of Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway Plc (GWR) Garry Owen, points out that Transport 2000’s list of 37 closed railway routes has been drawn up because of their potential to serve growing communities or for strategic transport use. 

“Some of those on the list are already being used by heritage railway operations and Transport 2000 will be well aware of those. We fully support Transport 2000’s objectives and would be willing to discuss with them ways that we can contribute towards reopening of the entire Cheltenham-Stratford route, which is enshrined in our long-term objectives,” he says.

“We see this as a positive move that could help us to achieve our aims that much more quickly.”

The GWR already operates trains over 10 miles of the route once known to local people as the ‘Honeybourne Line’, from Cheltenham Racecourse to Toddington. It owns a further five miles of the route to Broadway, the track over which is currently being reinstated and is seeking to reinstate the line to Honeybourne Junction, where it could connect with the Network Rail line from Worcester to Oxford.

“There is considerable support for our railway as it becomes increasingly clear that an extended line could contribute significantly to the local transport infrastructure as well as continue to develop as a leading Cotswolds tourist attraction,” Garry Owen says.

“We have recently contributed to proposals for developing a new transport link from Cheltenham town centre to the racecourse; we have held preliminary discussions with Network Rail about re-connection of the line at Honeybourne Junction as well as with Wychavon and Cotswold District Councils through whose districts our northern extension will run. We also enjoy the enthusiastic support of Tewkesbury District Council. All can see the considerable potential our line could bring towards relieving traffic congestion in the region.”

This is not the first time the railway has been considered for eventual reopening throughout.  Some years ago, the Strategic Rail Authority identified the route as offering potential for relieving congestion on the parallel existing line from Cheltenham to Birmingham.

“No-one from Transport 2000 has approached us about the practicality of re-opening the line throughout – but we would welcome one,” Garry Owen adds.

Ends

Media contact: Ian Crowder, 07775 566 555 or ian.crowder@gwsr.com

NOTES FOR EDITORS

The Cheltenham-Stratford line was first opened for traffic in 1906.  Most local stations along the route were closed in 1960; local goods traffic ceased in 1967 and in 1976 a freight train derailment effectively closed the route, being officially closed in 1979, after which the track and infrastructure were removed.  Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway Plc was formed in 1981 ‘to reinstate as much as possible of the Cheltenham-Stratford railway’. The GWR now operates heritage train services between Cheltenham Racecourse and Toddington, the headquarters of the line. The track is now being reinstated between Toddington and Broadway. The line has been reinstated and is operated entirely by volunteers. Last year, the GWR carried 67,000 passengers and it has a turnover in excess of £0.75m

Transport 2000 is the independent national body concerned with sustainable transport. It looks for answers to transport problems and aims to reduce the environmental and social impact of transport by encouraging less use of cars and lorries. The group published its list of lines for potential reopening on 26 April. The list was produced with the aim of persuading the Government to protect disused lines as part of its rail strategy, to be published in the summer.