Rail reopening scrapped over 'value for money'

Plans to reinstate passenger rail services on a former freight line in Hampshire will not be taken forward, the government has confirmed.

In 2022, Network Rail consulted on plans to reopen six miles (10km) of the Waterside Line from Hythe to Southampton, more commonly known as the Fawley branch line.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the scrapping of the Restoring Your Railway (RYR) fund last month and Network Rail has said the project would not be "value for money".

Supporters of the scheme said they were "very disappointed".

Although plans had been in development since 2009, the reopening of the freight line to passengers had become part of the RYR programme, promoted by former transport secretary Grant Shapps.

Shortly after Labour won the general election, it announced the ending of the programme, saying it would save £85m overall.

The Department for Transport has since written to Hythe councillor Mark Clark to state: “The Restoring Your Railway programme will now come to an orderly close and no further funding will be provided.”

It added: "With respect to the Waterside scheme … Network Rail concluded that – despite public support for the proposal to reintroduce rail services between Hythe and Southampton – the capital cost, operational cost and constraints and limited service levels that could be reliably operated would not deliver value for money for the taxpayer."

County and district councillor David Harrison, who had campaigned for the service as a means of reducing congestion, said there had been "widespread support" for the plan.

"Obviously, I am very disappointed," he said. "I think that the focus for campaigning now needs to go towards better bus services up and down the Waterside, as well as restoration of the ferry service."

The Fawley branch had not seen regular passenger trains since 1966.

The line had been used for oil trains until 2016, and part of the route is occasionally used to supply the military port at Marchwood.

Unlike many of the reopenings proposed under the RYR scheme, much of the track and infrastructure remained in place.

However, the Marchwood signalling facilities would have needed upgrading and a new station would have needed building at Hythe.

The aim was for one two-carriage diesel train running every 30 minutes to Southampton Central.

The regional Three Rivers Community Rail Partnership estimated the total cost for reintroducing the service would have been £45m.

A parallel plan to build 1,500 homes on the site of the former Fawley power station, which had been approved, was withdrawn earlier this year.

1925 - Fawley branch line opens, split from the South West main line, with stations at Marchwood, Hythe and Fawley

1951 - Fawley oil refinery expanded

1965 - Passenger services end as part of the Beeching cuts of Britain's rail network

2009 - Plan to reopen the route to passengers unveiled, and a report by the Association of Train Operating Companies finds it has the best value for money case for reinstatement in the country.

2016 - With most crude oil arriving via pipeline and on tankers, the last oil train uses the line

2020 - SWR runs a "fact-finding train" to demonstrate the branch line's potential

2022 - Network Rail consultation finds 84% of local people support the reopening

2024 - Government and Network Rail confirm the plans will not be progressed

You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.