On this day in 1987, 37 years ago, the last scheduled train passed over Farnley Viaduct, the tight curvature rendering it unsuitable for the overhead electrification equipment being installed between King's Cross and Leeds.
Featured videos...
Join us socially...
News stories
News stories
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.
Campaigners have warned about the fate of several disused railway bridges in Norfolk which could fall victim to National Highways' controversial infilling project.
North East transport chiefs are drawing up their latest plans for the reopening of the Leamside Line after disappointing news from Government on the long-awaited project.
Ambitious plans to open a heritage railway on part of the former Hull to Barnsley line in Wakefield have been changed due to concerns over coal availability.
Durham County Council has written a business case calling for the reinstatement of passenger services between Consett and Newcastle, 66 years after they were axed.
Secretary of State for Wales has viewed sites in north east Wales which are receiving more than £13m in UK Government funding to boost tourism and improve facilities for visitors, including two cycle routes along disused railways.
Communities in the north-east have been "sold down the river by the government" according to a prominent Northern Powerhouse representative after plans to resurrect the Leamside line were scrapped.
Campaigners challenging National Highways' bridge infilling programme have blown the whistle on the organisation continuing to award contracts for infilling works after Government put them all on hold.
The possibility of reopening disused railway tunnels under Dungannon for any potential restoration of the railway line, off-road cycling or walking routes is to be investigated.
Reinstating the rail link between Bere Alston and Tavistock would be a good indicator that connecting the rest of the former Dartmoor route is on the cards, councillors have been told.
A group is trying to raise enough money to keep Smardale Gill Viaduct - which stands in the Westmorland Dales near Kirkby Stephen, its 14 arches soaring majestically 90 feet above Scandal Beck - open to the public.
Plans to create a new traffic-free walking and cycling route along a disused railway that could eventually stretch from Pool-in-Wharfedale to Bolton Abbey are being backed by a recently-formed supporters' group.
The Campaign for Better Transport has identified a number of railway lines in Kent they believe should be reconnected to main line passenger services, with more nationwide.
Fresh cross-party attempts are being made to lobby the Government on the reopening of the Leamside line, which runs from Gateshead to Ferryhill in County Durham.
Plans to reopen the railway line between Tavistock and Bere Alston are a step closer to fruition, with cash given in the Budget to develop business case.
An old railway bridge near Oxford is being refurbished just months after National Highways' contractors partly demolished the structure amidst a community protest.
Campaigners fighting to create a greenway linking Pudsey to Tyersal are aiming to make two sections of the disused railway line - which have been used by residents for nearly 50 years - into official Public Rights of Way.
The firm behind a multi-million-pound restoration of the popular Keswick-Threlkeld railway trail - which was damaged by flooding - has won an award for its work.
More than 13,000 people have signed a petition calling for the Monsal Trail to remain a route for walkers, cyclists and horse riders and not be reinstate as a Buxton-Matlock rail link.
The proposed infilling of a bridge near Winchester is being contested by the charity developing the Watercress Way along the railway spanned by the structure.
The Levenmouth rail link project has taken a significant step forward with the removal of the old disused track and redundant infrastructure from the former branch line.
A contractor has been appointed to deliver improvements to Route 41 of the National Cycle Network " known as the Lias Line " which runs along a disused railway between Rugby and Leamington.
Scotland's answer to the New York Highline - using a disused railway viaduct - has been unveiled at Bowling Harbour in West Dunbartonshire and is set to transform the lives of those living on the Forth and Clyde canal.
The West Midlands' regional leaders have agreed a mammoth £1.7 billion bid for transport investment, including extending the Metro system along disused railways.
Rugged and unusable sections of a disused railway are being improved so more people can cycle or walk to work or school between Shepton Mallet and Wells.
Campaign groups have joined together to show their support for the refurbishment of an old tramway bridge and push for what they believe is right for the city.
Work to transform the 183-year-old Grade I listed Curzon Street Station as part of HS2's Birmingham terminus has got underway and will take a year to complete.
Ambitious plans to extend the Nidderdale Greenway along a disused railway are set to make progress with the formation of a steering group to oversee the project.
Fifteen previously unthreatened structures have been added to Highways England's controversial works programme to infill or demolish heritage rail assets.
Councillors have given the go-ahead for a railway bridge to be demolished between Rugby and Leamington Spa, but some say more needs to be done to preserve these impressive structures.
The former railway from Worcester to Leominster is the focus of a group called the WBL Greenway which is attempting to resurrect it as a 25-mile walking and cycling route.
Engineers, transport planners and the local authority have all hit out at Highways England's proposal to infill a 156-year-old disused rail bridge in the South Downs National Park.
Part of the trackbed of the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway could be secured for future railway use, but only if the Department for Transport gives its approval.
Swansea Council is looking to extend its active travel network by creating a new 1.6km route along a disused railway between Grovesend and Pontarddulais.
Victorian railway bridges that were due to be filled in with concrete in an act previously decried as 'cultural vandalism' could be repurposed as part of a scheme to encourage walking and cycling, the Transport Secretary has announced.
Highways England has reversed its decision to infill an historic bridge in south-west Scotland following pressure from local residents, councillors and members of a railway campaign group.
The Swindown and Cricklade Railway's big restoration project continues as work begins on laying the track that will eventually reconnect the two towns.
The government's roads agency could be forced to remove hundreds of tonnes of concrete it used to fill in a Victorian railway bridge in a project that was condemned as the first act of 'cultural vandalism' in a nationwide plan.
Sections of the disused track on the Portishead railway, some of which date back to the 1920s, are to be recycled as part of a project with the Avon Valley Railway.
Campaigners fighting to protect historic railway bridges in Dumfries and Galloway claim planned infilling works require planning permission, but the Council disagrees.
Row as 143-year-old Queensbury Tunnel is threatened by Highways England 'cultural vandals' who want to block the historic structure which is earmarked for reuse as part of a greenway between Bradford and Halifax.
Plans to transform the disused but iconic Holbeck Viaduct into a picturesque public walkway have gathered pace, with overwhelming support from various groups.
Campaigners have called on Dumfries & Galloway Council to take urgent action after a 'perverse decision' by planners has threatened to make the proposed reopening of a Scottish railway more difficult and costly.
The Island Line could be extended from Sandown to Newport at an initial cost of £67M under plans submitted to the Department for Transport by the Isle of Wight Council.
Dozens of picturesque railway bridges are at risk of being filled in with unsightly concrete or demolished amid health and safety concerns from road bosses.
Forty-six disused railway bridges under threat of being filled in have been given a reprieve amid mounting anger over 'vandalism' caused by the policy.
Highways England has been accused of vandalism after pouring hundreds of tonnes of aggregate and concrete beneath a 159-year-old Victorian railway bridge to 'stop it collapsing' rather than repairing it.
A 173-year-old station building originally earmarked for demolition during reconstruction of the Borders Railway is being restored as a bar/kitchen in a village that has no pub.
The National Trust has officially unveiled plans to transform Manchester's disused Castlefield Viaduct into a stunning new green space for city dwellers to take advantage of.
Highways England claims it has 'no plans' to infill a Cornish bridge built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel despite telling the local council that the work was going ahead under Permitted Development powers 'to prevent an emergency arising'.
At their first general meeting, the Friends of Wharfedale Greenway have welcomed progress made in planning the new foot and cycle route which will run along a disused railway.
Swansea Council is looking to extend its walking and cycling network by creating a new 1.6km route following the old railway between Grovesend and Pontarddulais.
The Gloucestershire half of a disused railway bridge is still without public rights of way protection three years after a bureaucratic blunder was discovered.
A council has thrown doubt over Highways England's controversial work to infill a bridge over the former Eden Valley Railway at Great Musgrave without planning permission.
Supporters of two heritage railways are among those who have criticised Highways England over the infilling of a bridge vital for a connection between their two lines.
A councillor is set to oppose an application to continue filling a disused cutting on the former Hull & Barnsley Railway, claiming it threatens nearby residents' privacy and the environment.
Reopening an old tramway between Stratford and Shipston as a cycle route is feasible according to a study conducted by a new community interest company which is determined to turn the project into reality.
The restoration of passenger services on the 14-mile Okehampton line - which has not seen regular trains for around 50 years - is now one step closer after track and sleeper relaying was completed.
The HRE Group has produced a report highlighting the 24 most noteworthy railway structures that face demolition or infilling under Highways England's controversial plan.
A fixed distant signal has been installed on the former line between Ilfracombe and Willingcott - which now forms National Cycle Route 27 - as part of a railway heritage trail being developed along the route.
Herefordshire Council has rejected Highways England's planning applications to infill two disused railway bridges spanning the route of a proposed greenway.
The Campaign for North East Rail is calling for train services to be reinstated to Fraserburgh, Peterhead and Banchory, and more than 1,000 people have signed the campaign's petition.
The Victoria tramway tunnel that runs for 2.25 miles under Newcastle - once used for transporting coal and as a wartime air-raid shelter - is set to reopen in May.
Railway heritage campaigners have secured support from the House of Commons Transport Committee in their campaign to protect disused structures from Highways England's wrecking ball.
Thousands of residents are outraged at plans to reopen the railway between Consett and Gateshead - a corridor rich in wildlife and used by many for walking and cycling.
Queensbury Tunnel campaigners who want to see the historic structure safeguarded for future generations have hit out after a Minister blamed a landowner for current difficulties.
Campaigners who want Queensbury Tunnel to be used for cyclists and walkers say more money has been committed to abandoning the Victorian structure than it would cost to repair.
Sustainable Transport Northamptonshire is seeking to reinstate the old Rugby-Leicester railway, together with two passenger stations, on the former Great Central route.
Welsh Ministers have been urged to put their hands in their pockets for a cycle path between Carmarthen and Llandeilo, much of which follows the route of a disused railway.
An MP has submitted a bid to the Restoring Your Railways Fund for a feasibility study into the potential for reinstating the old railway connecting Silloth and Carlisle.
MPs and local councils are hoping it will be second time lucky as they look to secure government funding for a plan to restore the Stoke-to-Leek railway which has been closed since 1988.
Sustrans and the North York Moors National Park Authority are looking into the possibility of reopening Sandsend and Kettleness tunnels for cyclists using the Cleveland Way.
Reinstating a disused railway line in the north-east would provide major economic, environmental and social benefits to the region, council leaders claim.
The leader of Carlisle City Council has indicated that significant progress could be imminent on efforts to reopen Waverley Viaduct across the River Lune, a long hoped-for project in the city.
The Cambrian Heritage Railways organisation is bidding for Government funding to reopen the first section of the old Oswestry-Gobowen railway that was closed in the 1960s.
An MSP has called for the former Powderhall railway to be transformed into a green corridor, linking up with walking and cycle paths in north Edinburgh.
A petition has been launched calling for the 21-mile Leamside railway in the north-east to be reopened, a move which the local MP claims "would bring massive benefits".
The Catesby Tunnel testing facility in Northamptonshire is set to provide a state-of-the-art facility for aerodynamic testing and vehicle development when it opens later this year.
A disused Victorian signal box at Devon's Torre Station has been sold at auction for £65,750 - well over the guide price - and could now be converted into a holiday home.
Highways England has been accused of using emergency powers to demolish or infill disused railway bridges that campaigners say could be given a new lease of life as part of cycle routes.
A historic rail bridge at the bottom of Northumberland garden faces infill as part of a wider move by Highways England to infill or bulldoze hundreds of similar structures.
Contractors taking up rails from a street in Weymouth have discovered another track below it that is thought to be part of a branch line from the 1930s.
A group campaigning to develop a network of paths along disused railway lines in Somerset are submitting a public right of way claim after Highways England fenced off a tunnel used for decades by local walkers.
Ambitious plans for a mass transit system in West Yorkshire " including possible tramways on disused railways " is dependent on accessing billions in government cash.
MP Bridget Phillipson has said that reopening the disused Leamside Line in County Durham would boost local jobs and improve transport access to the area.
A £760 million fund will be spent on reinstating the old line between Bicester and Bletchley as part of the East-West Rail project, with services due to start in 2025.
Heritage enthusiasts have discovered that a disused railway bridge outside Hampstead Norreys is one of hundreds across the country at risk of demolition or infill by government agency Highways England.
The potential conversion of old railway lines into cycle and walking routes is being blocked by plans to infill more than 100 bridges, including more than 20 in Scotland, campaigners have claimed.
Hundreds of potentially useful disused railway structures are threatened with destruction by government agency Highways England, argues an alliance of engineers, active travel campaigners and greenway developers.
