Reopening the Fawley branch line

[editor]

Maybe reopening in 4 years? And semaphores in the video - yea!

Video shows passenger train on disused Fawley branch line
A time-lapse video shows the first passenger train to run on a branch line for 54 years.
The rail minister, Network Rail and operator South Western Railway have backed plans to reopen the Waterside Line between Southampton and Fawley in Hampshire.
It's estimated it would cost £45m to upgrade the line and if the scheme receives government support the branch line could reopen within four years.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Disused Stations: Totton, Hythe & Fawley Light Railway has more on the branch.

fairly sure i have been on the branch on a railtour - research suggests it was with a hastings diesel unit in about 1982.

 

[petee]

cool.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

My dad lives there, not entirely sure how reopening that line would solve any local issues. His wife doesn’t drive, if she wants to go to Southampton she must take one of two daily buses that go through their village to Hythe and then get the ferry. But the rail line only went to Totton, which is near Hythe and mirrors a busy A road. ?

 

[davesgcr]

My dad lives there, not entirely sure how reopening that line would solve any local issues. His wife doesn’t drive, if she wants to go to Southampton she must take one of two daily buses that go through their village to Hythe and then get the ferry. But the rail line only went to Totton, which is near Hythe and mirrors a busy A road. ?

Any new service on the line would be linked into other destinations to make it more useful , for example towards Portsmouth , or cleverly into the Soton - Eastleigh - Romsey operation.

Could be bad news for the Hythe ferry and the superbly ancient tramway....