Weymouth's train track removal paused as lockdown ends

In the past four weeks the tracks have been removed from Custom House Quay between St Mary’s Street and South Parade

Work to remove a disused train line, set into the road in a Dorset town centre, has paused as the national lockdown ends.

The work on Custom House Quay in Weymouth was brought forward to the four-week lockdown to take advantage of less traffic and closed businesses.

Tracks have been taken up from Custom House Quay between St Mary's Street and South Parade over the four weeks.

Dorset Council said work was set to resume at South Parade on 4 January.

Weymouth Harbour tramway first opened in 1865

Plans to remove the tracks won more than £1m worth of Department for Transport funding in February after the council and Network Rail declared they could not be reused due to their "deteriorated condition".

The tracks at the seaside resort have been disused since 1999 - the branch line first opened in 1865 to link the railway station with Channel Island ferries.

The Office of Road and Rail put the line permanently out of use in 2017.

Heritage campaigners had previously wanted the 1.25-mile (2km) line to be reopened to boost tourism and a petition to save and preserve it gained almost 4,000 signatures.