Folkestone Harbour Station to Close

[whole diary]

[Electric train]

From the beginning of February to April 2019, most of the old track, sleepers and lineside equipment will be removed and overgrown vegetation and litter cleared along the the route.  Railway equipment at the rail-road and the footpath crossings at Folly Road will also be removed and the crossings converted to a public highway and public footpath. 

Discussions with local stakeholders on potential new community uses are now underway with a decision to be made in the summer of 2019. Enquiries about about the old line and potential future uses can be directed to CRSouthEast@networkrail.co.uk

.

I know that there were several aspirations to run a rail based heritage service; I have no idea of the practicality or currency of them.  It does strike me that removing equipment and converting in the spring, then announcing a decision in the summer, seems the wrong way round and renders certain aspirations as impractical. Perhaps that is the intent?

There were no viable bids, and with 2 level crossing (1 highway 1 foot path) it would be difficult for a heritage line to get up and running.  Network Rail has divest its self of no operational overheads, this line was becoming a liability, although effectively closed NR^» (Network Rail - home page) still had to maintain fences etc as if it were a live railway.

[Reginald25]

The business case for closure seems overwhelming, and the modern/heritage look and feel appears worthwhile in the photos (I've not been there since the changes). But the Folkestone Harbour line, just like the equivalent at Dover, has always had a great nostalgic effect on me, having lived nearby at St Marys Bay. The same is true of the long lost (and largely forgotten) lines to New Romney/Dungeness, Sandling to Hythe, and the Elham Valley.
I often wonder what some towns and villages would have become if their branch (or main) lines had not been axed. In the case of all these East Kent arms, I doubt if the railway would have changed things much.
Its a pity our heritage has no quantifiable financial value that can be added to the business case.