FORGET the tram – trains could once again run between Stratford and Honeybourne.
Members of Stratford District Council’s Cabinet are set to approve long-running plans to reopen the abandoned and derelict section of railway line when they meet on Monday (October 6) – with a heavy rail option back on the table.
At a meeting in December last year, councillors mooted a tram-train as a solution to Stratford’s transport issues.
This became part of the discussion as it was considered a cheaper option.
A tram-train can operate on conventional Network Rail infrastructure but can also undertake on-street running. It would be lower cost to build and operate than a heavy rail line through Stratford but it would be more for local rather than regional travel.
However, while this option still remains a consideration, SDC has also brought back the potential for a full train route between Stratford and Honeybourne stations.
The change of track comes about due to the significant scale of proposed housing development between Worcester and
Leamington, which will be accelerated by the government’s new annual housing completion targets. Both Stratford and Wychavon are both required to double their planned completions.
Consultants concluded that this potentially created a strong case for improving regional public transport connectivity across the South Midlands (Warwickshire and Worcestershire).
Both options would run from Stratford to Honeybourne taking in the new development at Long Marston. Reopening the Stratford to Honeybourne line would open up a whole host of other possible rail journeys between Birmingham and the South West and South Wales and direct services to and from Oxford and the Thames Valley and London Paddington.
Costs for both projects, however, are still considered a “challenge”, particularly the heavy rail solution.
The effect of reinstating the railway on the Greenway in Stratford would also be an important consideration.
The section of railway line was closed following a freight train derailment in 1976 and has since been left to become overgrown and as a result, a haven for wildlife.
Proposals to reopen the line were first mooted back in 2016.
Councillors are set to resolve to reinstate the single line from Stratford station to Honeybourne junction and to work with councils across the South Midlands, rail operators and the Department for Transport to develop this scheme further.
