New Lines Built Between 1923 and the mid 1990s

[30907]

Don't think anyone has mentioned the connections at Lewisham (two separate eras) or the Crayford Spur.
I'm ignoring wartime spurs that didn't last, but the Hawkeridge curve at Westbury was one (ISTR) and is still used.

 

[A0wen]

Finsbury Park High Level to Drayton Park (stretching it, but it was new!)

Actually I agree with this one - because some of the formation used was actually one started by the LT New Works programme in the late 30s which planned to link the Northern City to the Alexandra Palace branch. So I don't think it's stretching it at all.

 

[Lucan]

As others have included private railways, I will mention that the Port of Felixstowe have added lines within the docks, culminating in a complete a turn-round loop that crosses some external land to the north. I thought the loop was done in the 1990s, but Wikipedia says 2013. I must admit I cannot make it all out on the Google satellite view, which is rather hazy in this area.

 

[Greybeard33]

Various wartime connections between "foreign" lines - eg Claydon LNE Jn between LMS and LNER at Calvert, and a connection at Mickle Trafford (LMS/CLC).

BR reconfigured the Mickle Trafford connection in 1969 to enable Mid Cheshire line trains to be diverted to Chester General and Chester Northgate to close.

Similarly, in 1965 BR built a new connection at Netherfield to enable Grantham line trains to be diverted from Nottingham Victoria to Nottingham Midland.

 

[A0wen]

The re-routing of the Bury line from Bolton Street to Interchange in 1980, subsequently made part of Metrolink.

 

[Man of Kent]

Filey Holiday Camp
Penmanshiel Tunnel bypass
Airdrie-Drumgelloch re-opening
Paisley Canal re-opening

 

[edwin_m]

Similarly, in 1965 BR built a new connection at Netherfield to enable Grantham line trains to be diverted from Nottingham Victoria to Nottingham Midland.

Strictly speaking a reinstatement, as the line from Grantham joined the Midland Lincoln route here when built. The duplicate line was built after the Great Northern took over the Grantham line and the Midland objected to competing trains using their station.

 

[Sad Sprinter]

BR almost built Crossrail and did have plans for the Intercity 250 HS route on the GCR trackbed.

 

[Calthrop]

The Ashover Railway opened in 1924.

If we're going for narrow-gauge lines -- a case might be made (with possible "pushing the envelope" in different ways, with each); for the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch: opened Hythe -- New Romney 1927, New Romney -- Dungeness 1928; and the Welsh Highland, opened new Rhyd-Ddu -- Beddgelert -- Porthmadog June 1923 -- though literal building of this line, no doubt largely accomplished before 1923 dawned,

 

[matchmaker]

Cowlairs East Curve. Think there was also a chord put in at Haymarket to allow the former Princes Street services to access Waverley.

 

[Taunton]

There were quite a lot of chords put in during WW2, generally not very long but just joining two adjacent lines together. Some lasted afterwards, some didn't, and some were even reinstated in more recent times.

Regarding colliery branches, these were constructed fairly regularly. It is a fact of collieries that they are not permanent, they extract all the coal that's practical and then move on. Some of the branches were longer than others.

If we include London Underground, the DLR, etc, that's a whole extra chapter.

 

[HowardGWR]

Channel Tunnel 1994.

 

[Bald Rick]

Intercity 250 HS route on the GCR trackbed

Are you sure about that? First I’ve ever heard of it.

 

[Sad Sprinter]

Are you sure about that? First I’ve ever heard of it.

Yes, I believe it is detailed in the 1994 The Intercity Story. I heard the high speed line was going to start at Seer Green. The plan was scrapped fairly early on, by 1989, in favour of route upgrades on the WCML.

 

[Bald Rick]

Yes, I believe it is detailed in the 1994 The Intercity Story. I heard the high speed line was going to start at Seer Green. The plan was scrapped fairly early on, by 1989, in favour of route upgrades on the WCML.

I’ll have to look that up. A lot of similar ‘proposals’ were no more than a bit of crayoning by someone in planning.

 

[32475]

If the following counts:
The Harbledown Link in Canterbury which connected the Faversham - Dover line with the Ramsgate - Ashford line. It was open from May 1918-November 1924 to serve military traffic to and from Richborough Port. It reopened again for military traffic between March 1941 and October 1951 then again between February and May 1953 when coastal flooding closed the north Kent line connecting Faversham with Margate.
There are rumours about reinstating the link yet again which will be very close to and serve the proposed building of a new Canterbury station where the two mainlines cross (Worcestershire Parkway style)