3,000 Historic Rail Structures to Pass to Great British Railways
Control of about 3,000 railway bridges, tunnels and viaducts is to move from National Highways to the new state body Great British Railways. Campaigners have welcomed the plan.
The structures make up the Historic Railways Estate. National Highways and its forerunner, the Highways Agency, have overseen it since 2013. An alliance called the HRE Group has criticised their efforts, and a government department has been accused of "cultural vandalism".
The Great Musgrave arch
The campaigners point to an arch near Brough, in Cumbria, which was filled with tonnes of concrete in 2021. National Highways claimed the arch at Great Musgrave was unstable. The work was refused retrospective planning permission and the local council ordered the concrete removed.
Phil Dew, chair of the Upper Eden Railway Heritage Partnership, said at the time that National Highways had ignored objectors and acted with "total impunity". He called it "a case of cultural vandalism and desecration of a highly valued structure".
Removing the infill later cost about £352,000. That was roughly three times the £124,000 the original work cost.
What the minister said
This week, Rail Minister Lord Hendy said Great British Railways would have "the capability, knowledge and experience to maintain the estate". In a debate he added that the government had "already been clear" the estate will transfer, and that the railways bill contains the mechanisms to enable it. The bill is going through the House of Lords.
The Department for Transport said timelines for the transfer are still to be decided. Great British Railways is due to take over much of Britain's rail infrastructure and passenger services a year after the bill receives Royal Assent.
HRE Group spokesman Graeme Bickerdike said the switch would be a positive step whenever it happened. He expects the expertise within Great British Railways and "a more enlightened culture" to bring better outcomes for communities and taxpayers. He called on the government to "expedite the transfer" and to intervene so that proposed infilling and demolition schemes are paused until it is complete, unless safety concerns demand action.
Source: BBC News