While improving rail services to, from and within Dorset is a key transport priority, for several reasons the former Weymouth Branch Line cannot be brought back into use.
The Office of Road and Rail put the line permanently out of use in 2017, recognising that it is no longer safe or practical to run services along the route.
Safety
There is a clear danger of mixing trains with cars, buses, cyclists, and pedestrians. For us, the most important reason why these rails cannot be brought back into use is safety.
Commercial Road provides important access to the town centre and Custom House Quay is a magnet for families and visitors who want to be able to explore the harbour in safety.
Infrastructure
In practical terms, although the railway is called a ‘tramway’ by some, it is not suitable for light rail, which would need new dedicated infrastructure.
The line was only ever intended to serve the ferry terminal – there are no interim platforms between Weymouth Station and the terminal to allow passengers to get on and off the train. There is also no power supply to the rails.
During the short section of removal to date, we have seen that the sleepers – an integral part of the rail infrastructure – are rotted and causing voids beneath the rails and adjacent road.
Only a large multi-million-pound investment would be enough to overhaul the current tracks and make them fit for purpose, very little of the existing infrastructure would be reusable.
Running rail services is always an extremely costly business and with Weymouth Peninsula as the only destination this would never be a financially viable proposition, or recoup initial investment, even if run by volunteers.
Why remove them?
Over the years, we’ve trialled in-filling of the rails with different compounds. These trials had limited effectiveness – showing that a material infill would only last for a short time and would have significant maintenance requirements, causing frequent disruption and being an inefficient use of funds.
Also, infilling does not address the slippery surface of the tracks when wet, which poses difficulties for all road-users.
On Commercial Road and King Street we have also seen evidence of movement of the sleepers due to heavy volumes of traffic. This causes damage to the carriageway where potholes reoccur next to the rails and requires ongoing maintenance, and disruption.
Heritage
Where possible, sections of track are being kept in place to preserve some historic element of the Weymouth Branch Line.
So far, a 30m section at the start of the line in Commercial Road and ‘The Loop’ near Cosens Quay Car Park have been identified to remain in place.
A key part of the project is how to retain the visual impression of the rails in the historic harbourside setting – options are being considered of how best to represent the lines in a visual way along the route.
Engineers are working closely with the conservation team to make sure that we find a solution that does justice to the tracks historic worth.
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