Disused Weymouth railway line removal plans win £1m

Weymouth Harbour tramway first opened in 1865 to link Weymouth railway station with the quayside

A disused railway line at a Dorset seaside resort will be removed after plans won more than £1m in funding, council and rail bosses have said.

The tracks of Weymouth Harbour tramway, which was last used in 1999, will begin to be removed next month, Dorset Council and Network Rail said.

They cannot be reused due to their "deteriorated condition", they added.

Heritage campaigners had wanted the 1.25-mile (2km) line to be reopened to boost tourism.

A petition by Weymouth Quay Heritage Campaign to save and preserve the line, linking the station and the quayside, had gained almost 4,000 signatures.

Trains would travel at low speed through the streets of Weymouth to connect with Channel Island ferries

Dorset Council and Network Rail said proposals to remove it had won £1.1m of funding from the Department for Transport.

They added they would contribute an additional £200,000 to the scheme, which is expected to cost about £1.5m.

Up to 50m of track in the Pavilion car park, next to the old station platform on the harbourside, will be removed between 2 and 20 March, "to learn how best to complete any future removal", they continued.

"These rail lines are fully decommissioned and cannot be repurposed for other uses due to their deteriorated condition," they said.

Weymouth tramway first opened in 1865 to link the railway station with Channel Island ferries.

One of the more recent attempts to reopen the line was made by enthusiasts who were hoping it could bring spectators to the sailing events during the 2012 Olympic Games.