Quote:
Originally Posted by Rillington
Why have they decided not go ahead with this?
---------- Post added at 16:53 ---------- Previous post was at 16:51 ----------
It often is and the problem with a built-up trackbed often makes it almost impossible to reinstate former lines.
|
Manchester’s Metrolink has shown it can be possible in certain settings - parts of the network run on, or alongside, main roads while other parts re-use abandoned heavy rail routes. There is a long term plan on my local line to convert it from heavy rail to metro, because much of it was axed by Beeching and has since been built on. What remains barely avoided closure in the 1980s (freight usage saved it long enough for the local transport authority to get its act together) but despite the popularity of the line these days there’s simply no way to restore any more of it by traditional means. However, by converting the entire line to light rail, the lost sections of track bed can be bypassed by making use of some of the very wide urban main roads around here (many of which are so large because there was once a very extensive tram network).