Maid Marian Line: Plans to reopen disused railway 'still on track'

Plans to reopen a disused passenger railway line are moving ahead despite failing to get backing in a government scheme, a council leader and MP says.

The Maid Marian Line would connect Ashfield to a future hub at Toton.

However the government said a district council bid would not progress through the Restoring Your Railways scheme.

But Nottinghamshire County Council leader and MP Ben Bradley said it was being looked at as part of plans to redevelop Toton and Chetwynd Barracks.

Ashfield District Council initially put forward a bid to reopen the route, which closed to passengers 60 years ago, as part of a Department for Transport (DfT) scheme to bring back lines closed to passengers during the Beeching cuts of the 1960s.

Although the DfT has said it will not be moving forward with the bid, letters seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service confirm the plans would still be investigated as part of the Toton Masterplan with the East Midlands Development Corporation (DevCo) being given £2m over two years to develop the project.

The letters also confirm the line is being looked at alongside plans to potentially introduce a direct rail link between Mansfield, Toton and London St Pancras.

Mr Bradley said: "The government has written to us to effectively say they are pursuing this through a different route.

"And it means the DfT is actively working with us on it, instead of it being a one-off bid - it's a structured plan where we will work with the government to bring it through."

But the Ashfield Independents, the ruling group on Ashfield District Council, said they feared the scheme could be delayed "by a decade".

Councillor Matt Relf, portfolio holder for regeneration and growth, said: "Toton wasn't really the primary point of reopening the Maid Marian Line, yes it would open up connectivity to HS2 if or when that would be delivered, but it opens up so many other route options as well.

"Primarily, the most obvious route is from Kirkby, further up the Robin Hood Line all the way through and direct to Derby.

"The A38 is struggling under the weight of traffic from people commuting in that direction and the ability to alleviate that, for me, is remarkably shortsighted."

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