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Author Topic: Weymouth tramway-the final curtain?  (Read 15294 times)
bradshaw
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« on: February 15, 2020, 08:47:17 »

It is intended to remove sections of the line in order to determine the cost of complete removal.

https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/18237062.end-line-weymouths-harbourside-tracks/
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bradshaw
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« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2020, 18:16:15 »

It looks like the end of the line is very near

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Dorset Council and Network Rail are celebrating after winning over £1.1m in special government funding to improve road safety in Weymouth by removing the rail tracks from the old Weymouth Harbour Branch Line.

The Department for Transport (DfT» (Department for Transport - about)) announced today that Dorset Council was successful in its joint bid with Network Rail for funding to dismantle and remove the rails and to reinstate the carriageway. This will remove an ongoing hazard to cyclists and other vulnerable road users, reducing the number of incidents resulting in personal injuries.   

https://news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/2020/02/28/dorset-council-and-network-rail-win-funding-to-improve-road-safety-in-weymouth/
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JayMac
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« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2020, 18:59:56 »

I know the Tramway has been mothballed, but has the statutory formal closure procedure for the line and Weymouth Quay Station been started yet? That procedure is required by the Railway Act 2005 I believe.
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paul7575
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« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2020, 19:38:40 »

I know the Tramway has been mothballed, but has the statutory formal closure procedure for the line and Weymouth Quay Station been started yet? That procedure is required by the Railway Act 2005 I believe.
The line is “permanently out of use”, and no longer shown in the online sectional appendix, but I’ve been monitoring this for years and don’t recall any recent closure procedures as per the 2005 Act requirements...

Perhaps its effective closure predates the Act?
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stuving
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« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2020, 20:03:04 »

I know the Tramway has been mothballed, but has the statutory formal closure procedure for the line and Weymouth Quay Station been started yet? That procedure is required by the Railway Act 2005 I believe.
The line is “permanently out of use”, and no longer shown in the online sectional appendix, but I’ve been monitoring this for years and don’t recall any recent closure procedures as per the 2005 Act requirements...

Perhaps its effective closure predates the Act?

According to this article in rail.co.uk it is closed:
Quote
NR» (Network Rail - home page) agreed to give the council until the end of 2015 to make a decision on their tram plan. The deadline passed and the line now stands to be closed permanently on 8th May 2016.

It's not listed by the ORR» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) has having been closed under the 2005 act, so I wonder if it wasn't open - in the sense of that act, at least. If there was no scheduled service, what was there to close? NR may have been able to close it without all that ... stuff required by the act.
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MVR S&T
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« Reply #5 on: February 28, 2020, 20:16:18 »

From the BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-51677959
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grahame
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« Reply #6 on: July 30, 2020, 07:40:49 »

From the Dorset Echo

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CONTROVERSIAL plans to remove Weymouth's historic harbour railway line are on track to start this autumn.

Drivers are being warned of disruption as roads will need to be closed when the project gets underway in October.
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bradshaw
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« Reply #7 on: September 21, 2020, 13:10:00 »

Work to start on removing tramway on October 5th

https://twitter.com/dorsetcounciluk/status/1307988426755579904?s=21
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grahame
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« Reply #8 on: September 26, 2020, 14:08:01 »

Work to start on removing tramway on October 5th

And the article to support that tweet spawns letters and comments on those letters. The prophets of doom are at work in the Dorset Echo

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As posters have correctly said previously, it is highly likely that the Poole/Wareham - Weymouth line will be downgraded to branch line status in the next few years, then finally closed. (Similarly, Yeovil - Weymouth line also closed).

If you look back at the massive loss of Weymouth rail infra-structure in the last 50 years, in 50 years time @ 2070 it is totally apparent that Weymouth will not have a rail connection at all, unless there is major rail/tram investment, or its saved by very rich heritage rail enthusiasts.

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Yes, one can't help thinking that any long-term switch to home working will seriously undermine the finances of the London to Weymouth line. And the fuss a year ot two ago over the proposed switch to one direct train to London an hour with the other becoming Weymouth to Portsmouth train will seem quite odd in retrospect.

And as you say, the Yeovil to Weymouth line looks even more vulnerable.

I don't agree with the views quoted - I'm sharing them to flag that there are people who hold them ...
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WSW Frome
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« Reply #9 on: September 26, 2020, 15:25:31 »

It is hard to see where such (negative) opinions can possibly originate. The Weymouth Tramway has not seen a (proper) train for over 20 years so its final demise is not relevant to current rail economics. Should the entire rail industry be placed under extreme financial pressure then such harsh cuts might occur - at high political cost.

Most unlikely either route into Weymouth is under any current (or near future) pressure. Both routes are considered sufficiently viable in normal times and Weymouth can still build further on its top listings as a leisure destination.
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grahame
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« Reply #10 on: October 05, 2020, 13:56:58 »

From the BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

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A 155-year-old railway line in Dorset is being "wiped out without a goodbye", a campaigner has said.

Weymouth Harbour's tramway tracks, which have been disused since 1999, are being removed.

Train driver Andy Christie wanted to run a velocipede - pump bicycle - along the rails before they were pulled up but said his event was not supported by Dorset Council.

The authority said organising such an event would take 13 weeks.

Plans to remove the tracks won more than ?1m of Department for Transport funding in February after the council and Network Rail declared they could not be reused due to their "deteriorated condition".

Mr Christie, who works for CrossCountry in Birmingham, said he came up with the idea of a farewell event when he holidayed in Weymouth last month.

"Originally I wanted to run a steam train along it, but that would have been 700 tonnes so I settled on a velocipede which is about the same weight as a Mini Cooper car," he said.

He added: "I'm incredibly sad my plans were not supported by the council. It's a completely wasted opportunity.

"Now 155 years of history is being wiped out without a goodbye."
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« Reply #11 on: October 06, 2020, 10:23:26 »

film footage on BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) spotlight 18:30pm local news on monday 5th october.

If you can record it,its available for TWENTY FOURS only 
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TonyK
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« Reply #12 on: October 06, 2020, 17:46:12 »

film footage on BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) spotlight 18:30pm local news on monday 5th october.

If you can record it,its available for TWENTY FOURS only 

I am downloading it from iPlayer. I don't know if it is shareable if I can edit the bit out. I saw it last night, sad but seemingly inevitable. You have a very short time left to watch:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000n91n/spotlight-evening-news-05102020 Just after 12 minutes.
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« Reply #13 on: October 06, 2020, 18:51:36 »

It is hard to see where such (negative) opinions can possibly originate.

Well, sometimes it is people with specific agendas and narratives leads them to say things that the vast majority of people would think as strange to justify those belief...good old confirmation bias, and sometimes it's just because "There's nowt as queer as folk".
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« Reply #14 on: October 22, 2020, 08:15:37 »

From the Dorset Echo

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Commercial Road in Weymouth is now open from the King Street junction to Westham Road following the removal of the old rail tracks.

Access into Westham Road is now from the north and there's a temporary pedestrian crossing in place at the bowling green.

The area left by the tracks has a temporary surface for the moment as Commercial Road will be resurfaced from kerb to kerb at the end of November
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