Great Western Coffee Shop

Two interesting current proposals for cycle routes/greenways on former GWR lines in Gloucestershire.

The first is for a greenway from Kingham to Bourton-on-the-Water along the former Banbury & Cheltenham Direct Railway. Sustrans has done a series of studies and there's a very brief summary here: https://www.cotswold.gov.uk/media/jsqoexxc/sustrans-kingham-to-bourton-on-the-water-greenway-design-summary.pdf

The second is along the former branch line from Kemble to Cirencester. Designs are being taken forward in two stages, one from Kemble to a new estate on the edge of Cirencester, the other from there into the town centre. Both have received funding for design work: https://meetings.cotswold.gov.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=10855

Still some way off construction but interesting projects nonetheless.

Interesting indeed - what does this do for very light rail proposals from Kemble to Cirencester?

Is there room for both if the VLR is a single track shuttle service or with a passing loop?

I don't think so.

I am a great fan of the historic Kemble to Cirencester Line, but we have to be practical.  That line was, probably, never really financially viable as a railway, and particularly towards the Cirencester end, the trackbed has been chopped and changed.

However, I can see the possibilities for a 'green way' cycle and footpath.  Several overbridges would have to be replaced, and a load of vegetation would have to be pruned - but that could be done.

CfN.  ;)

The new estate will be about 3 miles from Kemble so absolutely prime territory for cycling. But I wonder if the Coventry VLR trials will tip the balance in future (insert usual gadgetbahn disclaimer here).

Kemble is the railhead for Cirencester and Tetbury, and (without researching this) I’d bet a fiver that part of the justification for closing both lines was that a bus could do the job. But the 882 - which looks like the modern incarnation of that substitute bus - does not integrate with the hourly train service at Kemble, so an onward connection is hit-and-miss.

So before committing to any kind of rail-based connection to Kemble, maybe it would be good to market a bus service from Tetbury to Cirencester via Kemble which connected to the trains, similar to the Bodmin and Okehampton services?