UK Railway lines from the 1960s could be reopened as Britain’s rails are so congested

Chris Grayling said routes dumped in the Beeching Review 50 years ago could be brought back to ease pressure on commuter routes – and 'unlock' jobs and growth

By Steve Hawkes, Deputy Political Editor 28th November 2017, 

THE TRANSPORT Secretary is looking at reopening rail services axed in the Sixties – because the network is so congested.

Chris Grayling said routes dumped in the Beeching Review 50 years ago could be brought back to ease pressure on commuter routes – and “unlock” jobs and growth.

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3Old rail lines like the Whitby to Pickering line could be re-opened to help deal with demand - it was closed in 1965

The Cabinet Minister admitted the rail network is “operating on the edge of what it can cope with” – affecting punctuality and reliability.

Dr Richard Beeching sparked uproar in the 1960s by calling for the closure of 4,000 miles of railway line and 2,000 stations to save money. The cuts came amid a rapid growth in car ownership and the opening of the UK’s first motorways.

Mr Grayling said: “Rail travel has transformed over the last twenty years and our railways are carrying twice as many passengers as they did before privatisation.

“But we need a new way of working to help our railway deal with the challenges it faces.”

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3Lord Beeching, on the morning train from East Grinstead

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3Chris Grayling says older train lines could have to be reopened

Ministers are already stepping up plans to reopen the ‘Varsity’ line between Oxford and Cambridge – one of those culled by Beeching.

Other routes that went included an 89 mile Edinburgh to Carlisle service, Southampton to Dorchester and Nottingham to London Marylebone.

The announcement comes just four months after the Department for Transport shelved electrification schemes in south Wales and the Midlands.

Mr Grayling said that as well as easing congestion, his new upcoming rail strategy could help boost productivity by linking towns and cities across the UK – and enabling more housing development.

Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald said the Tory plans defied belief given they have “scrapped hundreds of millions of pounds of rail investment”.

He said: “The Tories’ record is of delayed, downgraded and cancelled investment, huge disparities in regional transport spending and soaring fares that are pricing passengers off our railways.”

Some 427 million rail journeys were made in 2015-2016 – topping two decades of growth.

Average fares have soared 27 per cent in the past seven years and are due to go up by further 3.6 per cent in January.