On this day 117 years ago, an inaugural train passed over the new double-track Wilmington swing bridge, easing traffic flows around Hull's docks.
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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.
Work is getting underway to create an innovative aerodynamic vehicle testing facility in the disused Catesby Tunnel, with the building of access roads and hedgerow clearance.
Engineers have made an initial inspection of the disused Rhondda Tunnel ahead of a detailed examination being carried out by Balfour Beatty early next year.
Rail lines closed during the notorious Beeching cuts of the 1960s could be reopened to boost the economy, encourage house-building and ease overcrowding, according to the Transport Secretary.
The ten-year campaign to reopen the former Portishead railway, officially called MetroWest Phase 1, has received a £6 million injection, but the future of the project remains unclear after costs trebled.
Campaigners battling to reinstate the old rail link between Skipton and Colne believe the £100m scheme is a step closer to fruition after a key meeting at Westminster.
Plans to build a shared-use path along the trackbed of the Wye Valley's disused railway are on the cards again after campaigners received a £9,000 cash boost.
Contractors are continuing to make headway with the clearance of vegetation from a disused railway, ahead of construction work for a new section of the Midland Metro between Wednesbury and Brierley Hill getting underway in 2019.
Network Rail engineers are investigating the slippage of a bridge on the disused
Trawsfynydd branch in North Wales from which volunteers have been removing vegetation ahead of its proposed restoration as a heritage line.
Preparatory works are due to start soon on a test track for Preston's proposed tram system which would link the town's station to the M6 via a disused railway.
A campaign to reopen the former Newton Abbot to Heathfield railway is gathering steam with the news that Network Rail will consider a proposal to bring the line back into use.
A disused railway line has been put forward as an alternative route for HS2 constructive traffic to avoid going through the Shropshire village of Woore.
Residents in Blurton, Stoke-on-Trent, are divided over the future of a disused railway bridge that is set for demolition, making way for six new houses.
The mothballed Levenmouth branch could be Scotland's next new railway after a Parliamentary debate in which it was stated that the conurbation is the country's largest without a railway.
The group fighting to save Queensbury Tunnel and transform it into a cycle route say plans for investigations to look at its condition are being developed.
The Rhondda Tunnel Society - which hopes to reopen the two-mile long structure as a cycle path - has received a grant of £90,000 to fund a detailed examination.
One of Derby's biggest eyesores, the bonded warehouse on the site of the former Friar Gate goods yard, looks close to being restored as part of a residential and retail development.
Warrington's transport chiefs have responded to speculation over a new multi-million pound bypass along a disused railway embankment in Latchford, insisting any highway plans 'are not set in stone'.
A group of volunteers are calling on the local community to back their bid to get Gedling Station building repaired and returned to its former condition.
Wensleydale Railway Plc has revealed controversial proposals to sell Aysgarth Station to a private rail enthusiast to clear its debts and secure its survival.
The construction of a new walking and cycling route which will connect Shawfair to Gilmerton via a disused railway trackbed will get underway this month.
Plans to convert Cardiff's Grade II-listed Bute Street Station building into office space and retail units have been given the green light despite objections.
Work to transform the former Barnard Castle to Bishop Auckland railway into a walking route has been stopped in its tracks following a dispute over a small piece of land.
A railway books author has promised to submit an application to get Catesby Tunnel listed, just days after the Government awarded developers £4.2million to convert it into an aerodynamic testing facility.
A pioneering proposal to develop a 28km stretch of disused railway between Armagh and Newry - including the mile-long Lissummon Tunnel - has been put forward by NI Greenways.
Campaigners fighting to save Queensbury Tunnel have released a computer-generated film of what the historic structure could look like if it was transformed to host a cycle path.
Ambitious plans have been submitted to create a cycle route across the former railway swing bridge in Bowling, including a linear park with elevated viewports and seating areas.
Campaigners fear their bid to extend Nottingham's tram network along the A610 corridor, using a disused railway, has been sidelined despite a previous feasibility study.
A 'pre-feasibility' report has been published into the transformation of Holbeck Viaduct into a community park, akin to high-level walkways in New York and Paris.
Work to transform the disused Catesby Tunnel and the site of Charwelton Station into a state-of-the-art vehicle testing facility is likely to start before the end of the year.
A 1.75-mile section of the former Carmarthen-Aberystwyth line has been officially reopened following a £350,000 project that sees the Gwili steam railway doubled in length.
Residents across two counties have formed a pressure group with the aim of reopening a former railway bridge over the River Wye which was closed on safety grounds in February 2016.
Fermanagh could see a tourist bonanza in the coming years with the building of a 21-mile trail from Clones to Enniskillen along the route of an old railway.
The £200 million Midland Metro extension to Brierley Hill - using a section of disused railway - is on the verge of getting the green light after final plans were unveiled to Transport Secretary Chris Grayling.
The £150m vision to transform Lord's cricket ground would see two disused railway tunnels converted for car parking and a large outside broadcast compound.
A Parliamentary candidate is calling for a feasibility study into reopening the Market Drayton branch, providing a connection between Newcastle-under-Lyme with Stoke.
Transport experts have put forward plans to reopen as many as 20 stations across Ayrshire whilst a disused line would see passenger traffic for the first time in 50 years.
Otley Town Council has agreed to explore taking responsibility for the memorial that commemorates the 23 men killed during the construction of Bramhope Tunnel, allowing it to be repaired.
Ambitious plans to transform the deck of an old railway viaduct into a park with shops, cafes and bars " based on elevated public space in Manhattan " are set to be approved by councillors.
HS2 has submitted planning permission to convert the disused Curzon Street station entrance building into a visitor space when the high-speed terminal comes into service.
Tourists will soon be able to ride on London's underground postal railway thanks to a Scot who has played a key role in keeping the long-forgotten system in working order.
Developers are progressing their plans to create a vibrant four-storey events space - including a food and drink market, craft beer bar and gig venue - inside Manchester's forgotten Mayfield Depot.
Llanelli's derelict goods shed, built in 1875, is being saved from ruin by a group of volunteers hoping to transform it into an arts centre and community hub.
A project to improve access to the Martholme Greenway and disused railway viaduct has received a 'significant' cash boost from the Lancashire Environmental Fund.
Ambitious plans are being unveiled to create a six-mile heritage railway and cycle path along the disused line between Irlam and Timperley, crossing Partington Viaduct.
The old railway station in Market Rasen is to be brought back from its state of dereliction thanks to a £463,900 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Councillors on the Greater London Assembly have claimed that the extension of London Underground's Metropolitan line to Watford Junction over the former Croxley Green branch is running out of money and could fall victim to a £50 million shortfall.
The Blaenau Ffestiniog and Trawsfynydd Railway Society is looking for more volunteers to continue its 'amazing project' to restore a seven-mile section of the former Great Western Railway line to Bala.
Spiralling costs are threatening to derail the proposed reopening of the Portishead branch which closed in 1964 and was scheduled to carry passengers again in 2020.
Sustainable transport alliance Transform Scotland wants all former railway alignments to be safeguarded until a thorough assessment can be carried out on the possibility of bringing them back into operation.
A lobby group says that reopening disused stations and expanding the rail network in the Greater Cambridge area is gaining support as a means of combating congestion.
An old railway structure under Dunure Road in Ayr could have its rubble infill removed to accommodate a cycle path which runs along the Ayrshire coast.
Repair work is continuing on Tregarth Tunnel in order to complete a path between Bangor to Llyn Ogwen which will bring to an end 20 years of campaigning.
Worcestershire County Council is leading a £10,000 study that will look at the economic impact of reopening the line between Honeybourne and Stratford-upon-Avon, creating a direct link between the Cotswolds and Birmingham.
A Colyton man has put his passion for the railways to good use by attempting to clean-up Seaton Junction Station in Shute which has become a popular site for fly-tipping.
Guided tours of the tunnels below Glasgow Central Station have attracted thousands of people over the past couple of years but plans are now afoot to restore part of a platform to how it looked in its heyday.
Work to repair Donyatt Halt after it was damaged in an arson attack will begin soon as the fundraising committee have almost reached their goal of raising £10,250.
The Great Central Railway's disused tunnel at Catesby is set to be transformed into a vehicle testing facility with Daventry District Council expected to approve a planning application.
A new study has claimed that it would be cheaper to drive a new Queensbury Tunnel rather than repair the existing one in line with the £35.4M repair cost established by its owner.
A historic swing bridge, built for the Bristol Harbour Railway, is nearing the end of a £3.2 million refurbishment as part of its conversion to host a new busway scheme.
Disused railway stations in Willenhall and Darlaston could be brought back to life as part of a major revamp of the train network in the Black Country, transport chiefs have revealed.
Work has begun to clear part of the former
South Staffordshire Railway which is intended to host a new Midland Metro tram extension between Wednesbury and Brierley Hill.
Work has begun to refurbish the old railway through Deepdale ahead of its role as test track for Preston's Trampower project which was approved late last year.
A project to restore Rhondda Tunnel for walkers and cyclists has been awarded a £10,000 grant from the Welsh Government to carry out an initial 'tapping survey' on the structure.
After 30 years of campaigning to bring back the city's railway, Ripon City Council has agreed to underwrite the £18,000 cost of a study investigating its feasibility.
Views are being sought on how one of Cumbria's most popular walking and cycling paths should be repaired after Storm Desmond damaged three disused railway bridges in 2015.
Disused railway tunnels lie dormant across the Welsh landscape, but there are some who want to breathe new life into them for tourism and commuting purposes.
