Consultation

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As part of the Strategy we are proposing to "designate" 56 lines in England and Wales - separate designation is to provide greater flexibility for lines to meet local needs and circumstances. This will include the application of appropriate standards and will enable exemption from some EU legislation which is inappropriate for lines that are local in nature. It will also help to raise the profile of the lines in the local community and rail industry and allow greater local involvement in determining timetables and fares.

The lines proposed for designation (PDF, 106KB) cover 1154 miles (10.5% of the franchised network) and 390 stations (15.5%). The characteristics of these lines vary, but are all relatively low speed, often have low frequency services and have scope for development. Examples include rural branch lines (e.g. St Ives Bay in Cornwall, Bishop Auckland in County Durham), longer routes through rural areas (e.g. Heart of Wales Line from Swansea to Shrewsbury) and even some local commuter routes (e.g Watford - St Albans Abbey and the Stourbridge Town branch).

As the Community Rail Development Strategy was widely consulted on in 2004, consultation on designation of each individual line will be through a specific short consultation involving only those organisations with key local transport and planning responsibilities and rail industry stakeholders associated with the line. Consultation on designation of each line will take place with the following stakeholders prior to designation of each Community Rail line:

  • County Councils, District Councils and Unitary Authorities associated with the line
  • Metropolitan Borough Councils and PTEs served by the line
  • All train operating companies associated with the line
  • Freight operating companies
  • Network Rail
  • Office of Rail Regulation
  • Rail Safety & Standards Board
  • Health & Safety Executive
  • Where a Community Rail Partnership or Rail Development Company exists, these will be consulted
  • Where there is no CRP or RDC, the relevant line user group will be consulted
  • The Rail Passenger Committee for the appropriate area (they will also take into consideration the views of any Rail User Group who are not formal consultees)
  • Regional Development Agencies associated with the line
  • Regional Assemblies associated with the line

Designation will take place for the 7 pilot project routes first and then for the other routes proposed for designation. Consultations on the other routes will not start until the end of 2005. Due to the number of routes this process will continue during 2006.

The relevant local stakeholders (see above) have been consulted on designation of the Esk Valley Railway (between Middlesbrough and Whitby), the Abbey Line (between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey), the route between Grantham to Skegness, and the St Ives Bay Line (between St Ives and St Erth) as Community Rail lines. This page will be updated with details of the other consultations as they are agreed.

Consultation on the Strategy

The consultation on the Community Rail Development Strategy closed on 28th May 2004. There were over 300 well-informed and thoughtful responses from a wide range of stakeholders.

For further information about the responses, including a list of respondents, please see the Summary of Responses (PDF, 237KB) to the consultation, which was published on 30th June 2004 and which forms Appendix C to the Community Rail Development Strategy.

List of proposed Community Rail lines by region (107 kb)

This forms Appendix A to the Community Rail Development Strategy.

Published:
30 June 2004

Summary of responses to the consultation on Communuity Development Strategy (242 kb)

This forms Appendix C to the Community Rail Development Strategy.

Published:
30 June 2004