Cuts mean end of the line for return of passenger train

Plans to reinstate passenger rail services on a former freight line in Hampshire have been shelved amid cuts government cuts.

In 2022, Network Rail consulted on plans to reopen the Waterside Line from Hythe to Southampton, more commonly known as the Fawley Branch.

In the Commons on Monday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled billions of pounds of cuts, including the scrapping of the Restoring Your Railway fund.

Hampshire and New Forest councillor David Harrison said the announcement was the "most worrying sign yet" for campaigners.

Rachel Reeves announced cuts worth billions of pounds

The eight-mile freight line in Hampshire closed to passenger trains in 1966 but the plan hoped to see services run from Southampton Central to a new station in Hythe. Part of the route is still used by trains serving Marchwood Military Port. The last oil train to Fawley refinery ran in 2016.

Ms Reeves said scrapping the previous government's programme to reopen mothballed lines and stations would save £85m.

On Tuesday, transport secretary Louise Haigh said Labour had inherited £2.9bn of "unfunded transport commitments".

"Communities up and down the country have been given hope for new transport infrastructure, with no plans or funds to deliver them," she said.

Ms Haigh said there would be an internal review of the Department for Transport's capital spend portfolio.

"We will bring in external expertise and move quickly to make recommendations about current and future schemes," she added.

Mr Harrison, who is county councillor for Totton South and Marchwood, as well as district councillor for Totton South, said: "A lot of us had been pinning hopes on the opening up of the Waterside railway line which would help ease traffic congestion and allow the opportunity for some 69,000 [people] to exercise a greener travel option.

"Hopes were raised when the Conservative government announced a £500m Restoring Our Railways fund as well as a £7m allocation to Network Rail so that they could examine the practicality and business case for the Waterside service."

"The Waterside line has always been considered one of the most cost-effective because the line already exists," he said.

A Hampshire County Council spokesperson said: "We await further detail from the Department for Transport around implications of the Chancellor’s announcement relating to funding for railway restoration."