There have been various projects in the area simply to remove vegetation, without any motive relating to reopening infrastructure. There is obviously quite a considerable backlog, so any clearance can look very noticeable indeed.
The remainder of the sidings, beyond the 4 coach limit on one of them, have been signed out of use due to the condition of the track, so unless track work does take place, nothing’s likely to reopen. There is also no approved Authorised Walking Route for drivers to leave the sidings on foot, so any stabling of trains would need to wait for that to be dealt with. It’s always been a bit of an oversight, in my opinion, anyway.
There have, however, been a lot of rumblings about GTR wanting to berth more stock somewhere in the Redhill area for some time, certainly the last year or two. I’m not absolutely sure of the latest news, but at one point (after the Platform 0 works at Redhill) they were looking at seeing if they could put any new sidings on the Up side there. I have a feeling this would have been less effective than reinvigorating the Loco Sidings and other infrastructure on the Down side, all of which would seem more readily usable, and perhaps there turned out not to be an immediate need anyway, as not a lot appears to have happened.
I’m still wondering what the long-term plan is for Betchworth as well. The ground frame and siding are present, although clipped and padlocked out of use. The ground frame actually had a small handful of nighttime test trains over it, about a year or so ago.
