Mutant Lemming
Established Member
It's one of the few stretches of track I have never traversed and there never seems to be any progress towards it re-opening and no trips or tours along it.
Is there any reason why a chord couldn't be built between Leicester and this line?
There was also a steam railtour hauled by a pair of Pannier tanks to Leicester over the route in November last year.UK Railtours ran a trip on 4th June last year (The Midland & Great Central No. 2) that included from Market Harborough to Burton.
I also think that the BLS (Branch Line Society) have run a tour along there since the UK one.
There was also a steam railtour hauled by a pair of Pannier tanks to Leicester over the route in November last year.
I'm not aware that it had to: The route it took was a circuitous one that ran Tyseley - Water Orton - Nuneaton - Wigston North Junction - Coalville - Burton upon Trent - Stenson Junction - Sheet Stores Junction (The freight only Derby avoiding line) - Loughborough - Leicester - Nuneaton - Water Orton - Tyseley.Where'd it reverse/run round?
It was partly cost and also that the driver would have to change ends. Also I think one industrial unit would have to be demolished to put the original junction back in for a direct line into leicester.Wasn't there a plan to re-open the line in the early 1990's, but it was calculated not to be economically viable.
Would that still be the case today considering that most (if not all) of the track and signals would need replacing and a new cord would need to be built at Leicester. But with the huge increase in the popularity of local rail services since privatisation, I wouldn't be surprised if the economic case has improved substantially.
And would there be enough capacity at Leicester and Derby to run a 2pth service and would that even be possible considering there are section of single track?
It was partly cost and also that the driver would have to change ends. Also I think one industrial unit would have to be demolished to put the original junction back in for a direct line into leicester.
Wasn't there a plan to re-open the line in the early 1990's, but it was calculated not to be economically viable.
No, it was given the go-ahead by the then Tory government in 1993 - it was in the position that East-West Rail is in now. The money was allocated but during the final parts of the process, Railtrack was formed and promptly increased the price. Stage 3 of the Robin Hood Line (Woodhouse - Worksop) tripled in price thanks to Railtrack.
The latest report done put a BCR of 1.6 or the same as HS2 based on a pitiful 220,000 passengers per annum - that is less than the prediction for Ebbw Vale. Bermuda Park as part of NUCKLE is expected to produce 112,000. Ivanhoe Stage 2 was to have stations at Bede Island (Walkers Stadium), Rancliffe Crescent, Leicester Forest East, Desford, Kirkby Muxloe, Bagworth, Coalville, Swannington, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Moira and Castle Gresley.
Trains can run-round on the Knighton loop or just reverse for an MU.
the DfT isn't interested as it isn't either London, Birmingham or Manchester.