Chancellor axes Restoring Your Railway programme

Built to handle Waterloo-Plymouth expresses, Bere Alston is now just the stump end of a Great Western shuttle service from Plymouth to Gunnislake, and only one platform has track. Despite the collapse of RVR, its glory days could return if Devon County Council gets its own way to relay the line to Tavistock. HOWARD JOHNSTON.

New Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has cancelled the previous government’s Restoring Your Railway scheme, as part of her Commons announcement on July 29 to reduce national public spending.

Reeves revealed that no money has been spent during this financial year for any of the schemes that were trumpeted as Restoring Your Railway (RYR) competition winners in 2021, and only £76 million had been allocated for 2024-25.

This has now been wiped out (Read the opinion piece on Reeves' decision).

Campaigners hoping to reopen the western end of the Ivanhoe Line between Coalville and Burton on Trent have been among the first to suggest that Reeves’ decision might scupper the £100m-plus project, despite newly elected Labour MPs in local constituencies having pledged their strong support. 

Alongside the RYR abandonment, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has said that she will undertake a review of transport infrastructure schemes currently under way, to identify any where the benefits may justify replacement funding being made available. 

It is also unclear at the moment how transport infrastructure improvements will be scrutinised by the newly announced Office of Value for Money (OVM).

The high-profile launch of Restoring Your Railway in January 2020 attracted around 160 schemes, which had to be signed off by MPs after being worked up by local authorities, consultants and campaign groups. 

Around 20 were approved for development, but it was clear that the total budget of £500m would do little more than prepare outline proposals for unfunded business cases. It is acknowledged that line reopenings often carry £100m minimum price tags, and that building even a rudimentary station can also be around that figure.

The axing of the expensive (and currently shelved) London Euston station remodelling for the planned start of HS2 services in 2033 was widely predicted to be in the firing line for Reeves’ spending cuts, but it was not mentioned in her speech. 

The London Borough of Camden is uneasy that the land around Euston is becoming a derelict building site, after the previous government put the redevelopment on hold for two years in spring 2023, despite £500m having already been spent on design and other costs. 

Camden believes that it can generate £41 billion for the local economy with a new Euston station that will create 34,000 jobs from complementary business parks and leisure areas, and around 10,000 new homes. 

Railway Industry Association Chairman Darren Caplan said: “Our members will be closely following the announcement that the RYR programme is cancelled with individual projects now under review. 

“We urge the government to make sure it takes account of the crucial role rail investment plays in supporting jobs, local growth, connectivity and decarbonisation within and between the UK’s nations and regions. 

“As the National Infrastructure Commission recently noted, a lack of rail capacity is at risk of holding back growth in key cities.”