Disused Railways: Should tracks have been lifted in the 60s?

[Geswedey]

Interestingly in Eire it was a requirement that track on closed railways had to remain in situ for a number of years in case there was a change of heart and and the line was required again in the future.

 

[scarby]

A related and probably more illuminating question might be 'what proportion of mothballed French lines were subsequently re-activated and at what cost?'.

The classic one is Pau to Canfranc, most of which, apart from the stretch from Pau to Oloron Saint-Marie, was basically left to rot after an accident in 1970.

The tracks and structures being left in situ must surely have helped the case with the subsequent reopening from Oloron to Bedous in 2016, though of course practically everything had to be ripped out and replaced, right down to new ballast.

 

[Dr Hoo]

The classic one is Pau to Canfranc, most of which, apart from the stretch from Pau to Oloron Saint-Marie, was basically left to rot after an accident in 1970.

The tracks and structures being left in situ must surely have helped the case with the subsequent reopening from Oloron to Bedous in 2016, though of course practically everything had to be ripped out and replaced, right down to new ballast.

Ah! I am glad that someone has at last been able to cast some light on my question. Thank you.

So, after almost a month, the Forum has been able to come up with just one example out of numerous French closures, which took over 45 years to bear fruit and with no real evidence of the actual cash implications. This hardly sounds like a complete vindication of French policies.

I fully support protection of alignments, such as Walsall-Brownhills-Lichfield, that might have scope for strategic re-use, but as East-West Rail has shown, simply leaving rusting rails on rotting sleepers in flooded cuttings between Bletchley and Claydon is of minimal benefit.

 

[peteb]

There's still a good many closed French branch lines with track intentionally left in stu, however this appears mainly to have arisen due to the difficult terrain these lines pass through rather than being mothballed for potential future use. An example where the terrain was easier to access is Chinon to Richlieu which survived into steam preservation, only to be ripped up (literally, videos on youtube) when that venture failed.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

There's still a good many closed French branch lines with track intentionally left in stu, however this appears mainly to have arisen due to the difficult terrain these lines pass through rather than being mothballed for potential future use. An example where the terrain was easier to access is Chinon to Richlieu which survived into steam preservation, only to be ripped up (literally, videos on youtube) when that venture failed.

A very great shame that - we stumbled on it way back - pre children that is - and had an amazing run on the "wine train" - a superb run out in all respects .......(the train was almost a "pop up" bar on arrival as a good number of locals arrived to enjoy the buffet car.