Freight only lines.

BanburyBlue · 19 Nov 2017

There was a thread the other day about freight trains delaying passenger trains.

This got me thinking, how many freight only lines are there out there in the UK? I guess a lot go to specific destination, for example a factory or freight terminal. But are there some that route direct from A to B?

And, do any of these have value as reopened passenger lines?

RailUK Forums

yorksrob · 19 Nov 2017

A lot of them were originally passenger lines, so could potentially serve the settlements they used to serve originally.

The one that springs to mind for me is the Dungeness branch which exists to serve the nuclear power station and occasionally mineral extraction. This passes through the town of Lydd, which could potentially be connected, but its not particularly big. The old station which closed to passengers in 1967 still exists.

pompeyfan · 19 Nov 2017

Marchwood and Fawley are another two ideas that float about every so often. There’s a lot of freight twin track railways in the midlands.

Twoonthebuzzer · 19 Nov 2017

There are a bunch of freight only lines in and around the Bristol area but very few of them see little or no traffic at all.

The Parson Street to Portbury line is a relatively new freight only line but the only current booked traffic is a sporadic weekly car train.

Avonmouth to Filton/Bristol Parkway is another, this one being a double track line too. Yet, little freight actually uses this line since the demise of the Didcot/Aberthaw coal traffic.

The Tytherington line again, nothing booked to use this line still despite the talk of a new stone train to commence sometime in the future.

The Planner · 19 Nov 2017

Hallen to Filton is the only A to B line there, the others are for terminals. Sutton Park, Leicester Burton, Bushbury Oxley is tenuous as its only a chord, plenty of corner cutting lines around that are freight only.

snowball · 19 Nov 2017

The Stuart Baker rail atlas shows freight-only lines in a different colour so you can see at a glance.

hooverboy · 19 Nov 2017

dudding hill line near cricklewood is freight only.bar a couple of charter trains.I believe this may change soon if the brent cross interchange goes ahead.

palmersears · 19 Nov 2017

The Peak Forest area is freight only, serving the cement works/quarries there, at Tunstead and at Dowlow. They do join up with the Buxton to Hazel Grove line at the far end before the Dowlow branch, which was utilised as a diversionary route for a couple of 15x units that needed to get back to Newton Heath during the Middlewood landslip last year, but that's the only DMUs that have ventured down there in a very long time I'd imagine.

Bevan Price · 19 Nov 2017

Various lines serving the docks areas around Liverpool, Immingham & Hull.
Chinley - Peak Forest and lines around Buxton.

D6975 · 19 Nov 2017

There's a whole bunch of them around Brum, not just the Sutton Pk line already mentioned. Some of them are used for diversions.

Stechford-Aston
Bescot-Bushbury Jn
Oxley Jn-Bushbury Jn
Lichfield-Wichnor Jn

D6975 · 19 Nov 2017

South Yorks used to be a tangle of freight only lines, most of them disappeared with the pits. Ones that are there now include

Doncaster avoiders (2)

Castleford-Milford Jn

Adwick-Hatfield and Stainforth

Rotherham-Chesterfield

kevconnor · 19 Nov 2017

As well in South Yorkshire is the line from Sheffield to Stockbridge via Deepcar.

thenorthern · 19 Nov 2017

There are loads of fright only spurs around the country.

Freight only through lines there are a large amount as well, I know in Staffordshire there is Lichfield to Burton upon Trent. In Derbyshire there is Willington to Long Eaton, Long Eaton to Ilkeston, Pye Bridge to Kirkby in Ashfield, Chesterfield to Woodhouse (use by once per day by passenger trains), Buxton through Dove Holes Tunnel to Chinley and I am sure many more. In the West Midlands there are many miles of freight only lines.

As other have said many freight only lines were passenger lines that have been closed.

The Cromford and High Peak Railway (now High Peak Trail) was one of the few railways which was largely only ever freight only.

IanXC · 20 Nov 2017

A couple of further examples:

Stillington - broadly Middlesbrough to Durham avoiding Darlington/Sunderland
Blyth and Tyne - runs broadly parallel to the East Coast Mainline between Newcastle and Morpeth

61653 HTAFC · 20 Nov 2017

There's the Monk Bretton branch between Wakefield and the outskirts of Barnsley. Not sure if anything uses it currently though.

Heaton Lodge junction to Milner Royd junction (aka the "true" Calder Valley line) was freight-only apart from diversions between 1968 and 2000.

Altfish · 20 Nov 2017

Northwich to Sandbach via Middlewich, hopefully will in the not too distant future no longer be freight only

The Planner · 20 Nov 2017

D6975 said:
There's a whole bunch of them around Brum, not just the Sutton Pk line already mentioned. Some of them are used for diversions.

Stechford-Aston
Bescot-Bushbury Jn
Oxley Jn-Bushbury Jn
Lichfield-Wichnor Jn

Stechford Aston has a booked passenger train, Bescot to Bushbury does to at least Portobello Jn as does Lichfield Wichnor, so not freight only.

edwin_m · 20 Nov 2017

Many of the freight only lines that connect other parts of the network can be used for diverting passenger trains, so often have a few scheduled passenger trains (usually at odd times of the day) to keep up driver route knowledge. This also means they are signalled to standards suitable for use by trains carrying passengers. So in that sense they may not be considered freight only after all.

On the other hand dead end branches are unlikely to see passenger service, except the occasional railtour, and may have very simplified signalling arrangements.

BanburyBlue · 20 Nov 2017

I do remember a few years ago, when they were doing some work on the tunnels approaching Sheffield, that trains were being diverted between Sheffield and Derby on a freight only line.

PeterC · 20 Nov 2017

The Angerstein Wharf branch in south east London.

Railwaysceptic · 20 Nov 2017

hooverboy said:
dudding hill line near cricklewood is freight only.bar a couple of charter trains.I believe this may change soon if the brent cross interchange goes ahead.

The projected new passenger service along the Dudden Hill line is unlikely to get the green light anytime soon. If it does go ahead, it will also bring into passenger use the short stretch from South Acton to Brentford.

There is a freight only spur from Carlton Road Junction (on the MML) to Junction Road Junction on the GOBLIN route.

Ploughman · 20 Nov 2017

Hull Dock branch.
Drax, Ferrybridge (if still open) and Eggborough branches.
York freight lines.
Milford Curve.
Knottingley - Askern - Shaftholme.
Applehurst - Joan Croft,
Goole Docks
Hull stone terminal.
Rylstone Branch.

route101 · 20 Nov 2017

Maybole to Ayr springs to mind

delt1c · 20 Nov 2017

what about the Edinburgh Sub

Dr_Paul · 20 Nov 2017

There are the freight branches to London Gateway (formerly Corringham), Dagenham Dock and what used to be Port Victoria (from Hoo). Shorter freight-only lines around London are Kew Bridge to South Acton; what's left of the GWR Brentford branch; the Canonbury curve. I think that some of the connections at Stratford don't have passenger services.

Apart from Killoch, near Kilmarnock in western Scotland, do any collieries have regular freight services?

Railsigns · 20 Nov 2017

route101 said:
Maybole to Ayr springs to mind

Maybole to Ayr is a passenger line, part of the line from Stranraer. I guess you meant Mauchline to Ayr.

xotGD · 20 Nov 2017

Any offers for the longest freight only line in the country?

driver_m · 21 Nov 2017

Ditton to Latchford hasn't been mentioned yet surprisingly. (passed through Widnes and Warrington for those wandering where)

davyp · 21 Nov 2017

Hazel Grove to Altrincham

BanburyBlue · 21 Nov 2017

So is there a good map out there somewhere showing where all these freight only lines are?

Freight only lines.

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