On this day in 1887, 137 years ago, 48-year-old labourer James Matheson was struck on his side with great violence after a shot was fired in Glenfarg South Tunnel, propelling a stone towards him as he stood 40 yards away.
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Against the odds, the UK’s network of disused railway lines continues to make the news as the 21st Century throws up a host of transport, environmental and health challenges.This news page will provide links to relevant stories.
The restoration of Queensbury Tunnel is unlikely to take place after Bradford Council made clear that its focus is on delivering a wider active travel network for the area.
A missing link between two popular cycle paths in Somerset has been completed, connecting the Pier to Pier Way and Strawberry Line via a disused railway in Yatton.
The Victorian-era Branksome East Viaduct in Bournemouth has been earmarked for demolition by the local authority in its draft infrastructure delivery plan.
Plans for a so-called sky park on a disused railway viaduct in Birmingham - replicating New York City's High Line experience - have been approved by the city council.
Work done to clear the disused Somerset & Dorset Railway trackbed in Shepton Mallet and open it up as a multi-user path has been shortlisted for a prestigious National Railway Heritage Award.
A proposed development in Bristol, which would have transformed a disused railway underpass into an office and commercial space, has been denied due to the environmental impact on local habitats.
A listed viaduct that forms part of one of the Peak District's most popular walking trails is set to undergo major refurbishment works, forcing the closure of a busy road for around four weeks.
The Greenside Greenway group has welcomed Bradford Council’s support for the use of Greenside Tunnel and ‘Pudsey loop’ trackbed for a proposed new tram system.
The opening of a new access ramp at a historic Bennerley Viaduct has been delayed again because contractors need more time to ensure the installation has stopped settling.
A decision to shelve plans to reopen two Derbyshire railway lines has been dubbed “short-sighted”, “disappointing” and “extremely wrong” by a councillor.
A disused railway between Bradford and Pudsey should be brought back into use as part of West Yorkshire’s mass transit network, Bradford Council officers believe.
A new visitor centre has been opened inside what is believed to be the last-functioning water tower of its kind in the UK, on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway.
Seemingly doomed plans to reopen the railway to Portishead could still go ahead after the local metro mayor said he was “quietly confident” they would get the green light.
A shuttle bus between Oswestry and Gobowen could provide a temporary solution for commuters after a project to restore the towns' rail link hit the buffers.
The three-week closure of Meldon Viaduct for works to its deck has been postponed until November after local businesses expressed concerns over its impacts.
The Government is “working closely” with regional leaders in the North East to reopen the Leamside Line and expand the Tyne and Wear Metro, a minister has said.
Demolition of Preston's 200-year-old tram bridge is getting underway, five years after it was closed due to a perceived risk of collapse. A replacement bridge will be built as part of the £6.6M project.
Illuminating two disused railway tunnel are amongst the options being considered in plans to develop the arts and the outdoors at Waterfoot in Rossendale.
Council leaders are seeking answers over the possible reopening of the Stoke-Leek line after the government announced it was axing 'unfunded' transport projects.
Enterprising residents in Sussex's Rother Valley are looking for support for plans to turn a disused railway line into a traffic-free path connecting Midhurst and Petersfield.
Work has been completed on the first section of a project to create a greenway on a 2-mile section of the former Cornhill in near Alnwick, passing under a bridge previously threatened with infilling.
North Somerset Council has said it is "absolutely committed" to reopening the Portishead railway to passengers despite the government announcing budget cuts to several large projects.
In partnership with Balfour Beatty and Edinburgh Napier University, National Highways is surveying some of its disused railway corridors to assess the impact of earth movement on biodiversity enhancement during repairs to structures.
National Highways has won its appeal over whether it should remove hundreds of tonnes of stone and concrete used to infill a historic railway bridge at Congham.
The proposed Washington extension of the Tyne and Wear Metro are set to take a step forward with North East mayor Kim McGuinness announcing that £8M will be spent on the development of plans for the mothballed Leamside line.
Work has begun to transform the former Teesdale section of the Stockton & Darlington Railway into a walking and cycling route, ahead of the railway’s 200th anniversary next year.
The site of former railway sidings in Winson Green is set to be transformed into a “vibrant” new community as part of plans to provide 451 homes across seven residential blocks.
The Saints Trails Project, linking Perranporth with Goonhavern via a dismantled railway, has been shortlisted for the Infrastructure Project of the Year in the 2024 Constructing Excellence South West Awards.
The next phases of a major new walking and cycling route in the Rhondda are set to go before councillors for approval, including a section along a disused railway.
Merthyr Tydfil Council is seeking a design team for the transformation of Abernant Tunnel into a new active travel route, with the winners carrying out a £180,000 desktop study into refurbishment options for the 2,497-yard link between two South Wales valleys.
Northamptonshire's Catesby Tunnel has officially become part of a global centre for the innovation and development of connected and self-driving vehicle technologies.
150 years after work on its construction started, the future of Yorkshire's Queensbury Tunnel in still uncertain despite plans to convert it into an active travel route.
The Planning Inspectorate has begun a public inquiry into whether a historic Norfolk bridge should be restored three years after National Highways unlawfully infilled it.
Wealden District Council and other partners are joining forces to explore the development of a new walking and cycling route alongside the disused railway between Uckfield and Lewes.
A group wanting to turn the Peak District's Monsal Trail back into a railway has said the project has taken a "significant step forward" following dialogue with the Department for Transport.
The railway from Tavistock to Bere Alston could be rebuilt in five months, but it will take five years because of the paperwork, a public meeting has heard.
A scheme to reopen a landslide-hit coastal path and tunnels near Saundersfoot may be hindered by people putting others at risk by repeatedly cutting open safety fencing, a local councillor has warned.
Plans for a new viaduct to reunite two halves of the Great Central heritage railway have been announced following the removal of bridges and an embankment in the 1970s.
A North East council boss has claimed that delays on changes to the timetable on the East Coast Main Line make the case for reopening the Leamside Line even stronger.
A rural road on the outskirts of Weymouth will be closed for almost a month so that National Highways can carry out works to a historic railway bridge.
Plans to extend and resurface part of the Cinder Track, occupying the disused railway between Scarborough and Whitby, have been delayed after councillors raised ‘serious concerns’ about accessibility.
A number of paths in Ross-shire, some of them occupying dismantled railways, have benefitted from an upgrade thanks to cash from the Highlands & Islands Transport Partnership Path Improvement Fund.
The 140-year-old railway bridge at Barcombe, which National Highways was going to infill with hundreds of tonnes of stone and concrete, will now be refurbished following the transfer of its ownership to the County Council.
Dunston Staiths, which used to carry multiple railway tracks, have reopened to coincide with the launch of the Tyne Derwent Way, a £1.5M redevelopment of a trail which connects Gateshead Quays with Gibside in the Derwent Valley.
Ambitious plans to create a 97-mile greenway for walkers and cyclists along the former Alnwick-Cornhill line have been hailed as a "gold-plated opportunity".
Buckinghamshire Council has secured funding to improve the trackbed of a disused railway so that it is suitable as a cross-town walking, wheeling and cycling link in Buckingham.
A campaign group has voiced concerns over the infilling of a Victorian railway bridge in Yorkshire, claiming National Highways has misrepresented its condition.
Bennerley Viaduct, which spans the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire border, will be closed on the Notts side for about ten weeks whilst a new ramp can be installed.
Restoration work to a historic viaduct in Dudley is nearly finished, marking a significant milestone for Transport for West Midlands' Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Metro extension.
Stormont's Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir has called on Ards and North Down Council to intervene to save a picturesque disused railway bridge from potential demolition.
The Northern Devon Railway Development Alliance has been launched with the aim of securing a new rail link between Bideford and Barnstaple, and an upgrade of the North Devon line between Exeter and Barnstaple.
Pembrokeshire County Council has ordered the closure of a disused tunnel linking Coppet Hall car park and The Strand in Saundersfoot due to a rockfall above one of the entrances.
A project to convert the old ticket office at Norfolk's Middleton Towers station into a community asset won't go ahead unless volunteers come forward to help.
Work is underway on a new section of the Strawberry Line active travel route which will eventually stretch from Shepton Mallet to the Somerset coast, mostly along the trackbed of the former Cheddar Valley railway line.
Bradford Council is urging Government to share the findings of a business case review into reopening the Skipton to Colne railway as a boost to the Aire Valley.
It would be “inappropriate” for Bradford Council to buy the disused Wortley Curve at the current time, a Councillor has been told, as the site heads to auction.
Demolition work is set to begin on a historic former station building in Bedlington as part of a scheme to reopen a Northumberland railway to passengers.
Plans to remove a popular section of cycling and walking path in Edinburgh to make way for a new north-south tram route have been branded a “travesty” by a local councillor.
