UKH

I don't want to get into an argument about HS2, but it appears that, as part of the plans, the Monsal Trail may be reopened as a freight only line. This would destroy a valuable wildlife habitat and leisure resource in the heart of the Peak District. If you would like to oppose this development, please support this petition.

http://chng.it/yBm44yb8KR

 Thanks. 

I'm amazed that would be allowed.

I think there's a real need to increase train usage in the peak and around Sheffield to model European regions but I'd not favor using such lines. 

Around the Munich Alps we'd use the trains to link up hikes and runs. Just takes so much traffic off the roads.

"A proposal that is sponsored by two MP’s and the Peaks and Dales Railway Ltd has already been submitted to the DfT"

I don't really see this succeeding with support from two MP's, thankfully.

I can't imagine this actually happening but this site it links to:

https://www.peaksanddalesrailway.com/reinstatement

does not propose a freight only line (I think that's a misunderstanding based on the map which shows the *existing* Peak Forest line which is presently freight only), and does propose that it would reroute the Trail, so I can't see the massive objection (other than the quirkiness of the tunnels, but there are other abandoned lines with tunnels).

It's also nothing to do with HS2.

It's been on the cards for a few years, I do use the trail a lot and would morn the loss as it's been very successful but in the plans it seems to suggest keeping or Monsal Trail in some form or another.

They are not just suggesting freight,  as are suggesting also using the Tissington Trail and reopening all the old stations.

Apologies about the HS2 reference. I'd misread a sentence from elsewhere. I tried to edit my original post but I don't seem to be able to.

There is renewed interest in reopening closed 'Beeching' lines all around the country, and the DfT is providing funding via the "Ideas Fund" mentioned on P&DR's page to develop business plans.  There is still a long way to go and they will have to demonstrate a viable business case.

The big question will be what do they mean by "the re-provisioning and improvement of the Monsal Trail".

Why aren't we starting a petition to get the trains to stop at WCJ and Plum Buttress?

Personally, as a Derbyshire Dales resident, I'm absolutely in favour of reopening this famous scenic route, especially if the plan includes the Millers Dale station. 

Public transport service provision is an important component of the overall national transportation planning process and the values of train transport over car travel are obvious. 

As with some other routes that fell victim to the Beeching Axe, I think the original consent for a walking trail always provided for reopening the railway to freight/passenger traffic if there was a business case.  

During lockdown, general traffic round here dropped to nearly zero except for the limestone and cement lorries from the quarries. This really brought it into focus how much of this traffic is on the roads. If reopening the Monsal line reduces this significantly (as it says in the proposal) then its a very good thing. 
Similarly, if it reduces vehicle journeys into and around the Peak, it’s a very good thing for Environmental and social reasons. There have been a couple of abortive attempts to reopen it in the past, but these have failed to progress from the finance rather than planning side. The door has always been open to reinstate the line. Getting the train to anywhere but Manchester at the moment means driving into Chesterfield, Dronfield or Sheffield. I would certainly use a train from Hassop station for my daily commute. An integrated bus strategy could transform the Peak for residents and tourists. 

I agree with your objection although I can't see what it's got to do with HS2.  One reason given is to improve rail links from the East Midlands to Manchester.  This could surely be better achieved by running additional fast trains up through Chesterfield and then using the south-to-west curve at Dore, missing out the detour via Sheffield.  The cost of resignalling and of doubling the Dore curve is minute compared to rebuilding the Monsal route and the environmental damage is zero.  People - read what I've actually typed before accusing me of persecuting Sheffield;  I'm talking about additional trains, not changing the existing ones. 

Looks like the line has room for extra capacity at Dore, but might not when going through the Hope valley and south Manchester

I though the reason for this current plan was to enable limestone trains direct access south and that the track layout at the quarry had already been modified to allow this. A single track with trains running at night so it could co-exist with the cycle/walking route, but as usual these things escalate.

There was an engineering survey done quite a few years ago with regard to re-opening the line, well before it was converted into a cycle track. My recollection is the outcome  was that the infrastructure was, much to my surprise, in decent condition. I imagined there was just too many bridges, viaducts and tunnels that would need work to make it a viable proposition.

John 

If you want to bid for out support for your petition, it would be handy if your pitch was not full of fibs!

1. It has nothing to do with HS2
2. It will NOT be a freight only line

Personally, I'll not sign the petition as I believe these things should be looked at properly, bot just with a knee jerk reaction as "change is bad". Part of the deal with the Monsal Trail was that is was safeguarding the route for potential re-in statement as a train line in the future.

I believe we should be looking to improve public transport links to rural areas/populations so am happy to see reviews of these "Beeching Lines" so see the viability of bringing them back into service. I'm not saying they should proceed with this one, but I do think a proper analysis of the pros and cons is required. Getting across the Peak is a real pain with currently a single slow train service and lots of busy roads. Improving rail services (integrated into a coherent and regular bus system) would go a long way to getting some of those cars and hopefully lorries of the roads.

The big issue is the missing bridge over the A6 at Rowsley.

Didn't it go under the road by the industrial estate, but now filled in?

As another White Peak resident I'd be delighted to have improved rail links to the North. Tissington Trail (Ashbourne-Buxton) and Monsal Trail (Matlock-Buxton) would be great. Even better would be to reinstate the Ashbourne line to Uttoxeter but given the development I suspect this would be near impossible. 

However given the struggles Ashbourne has had to get a bypass north I think there is almost no chance of either rail link happening.

No, there was a bridge. Pretty big job to replace as will close the A6.

Caversham Bridge replacement, Reading. Completed within 72 hours:

youtube.com/watch?v=7HQestZREaM&

Under normal circumstances, I would agree with you. However, rail provision in Britain is far from "normal circumstances". Let's say for the sake of argument the lines re-open, what are the ticket prices going to be like? Currently, we are in the very awkward situation that it is cheaper to drive solo or even fly to much of the country than it is to take the train, often by *very* significant amounts of money. I do not foresee the Tories ever tackling this issue, so allowing the reopening of a line with a commercial contract to be milked like that, is a no from me. With the political will to *actually* tackle public transport provision, sure.

I really hope this doesn't happen. I believe that after C19 and then Brexit, they will never find the 90billion to pay for HS2, so will be moth balled

Wow! Impressive. I remember them taking the bridge down whilst at school in Rowsley. Even then there was talk of burning bridges.

Railwaymen really don't mess around when doing infrastructure work. If someone suggested to Network Rail that they undertake a maintenance outage in the same way that road maintenance is done it would go down like a poo in a tea cup. 

It would depend to some extent on what the bridge footings are like, the trend from what I saw in industry magazines (I was working on rail plant certification until recently) was for bridge decks to be lifted on a precast units. The car park at Rowsley could be used as a pretty decent laydown area to enable a lot of the assembly to be carried out prior to a medium sized crane moving the bridge deck into position with the lift undertaken on a nice weather day.

I don't.  I'd quite like a modern (ok 20 years too late) rail infrastructure in the UK.

If they couldn't make it work in the 60s when car ownership was low and BR was well funded, I cant see how they'll make it work today. 

Since the day it closed they've been talking about opening Woodhead which would make far more sense but that's not happened or ever going to happen either. 

The embankments are still there but the road was a lower then, when the bridge went the road level was raised as there were flooding issues.

Modern? Saving 20min to the journey? If it was a Eurostar type I'd get it, I'd probably be in favour, but it's awfully slow for 90 billion project. In 2h 20m you can be in Paris from London

It's not really about speed, it's capacity that's going to be increased.

Lack of supply & increasing demand means rail costs crazy money in the UK for the popular routes (also possibly because there is no subsidy on the those routes either) 

Just did a bit of research, the cost of reopening the line was put at £200m in 2019. £200m seems very low to me - I could imagine that being spent just on the section from Rowsley down to Matlock