An ambitious railway reconnection project to allow trains from Ruddington to once again run all the way to Leicester is now another step closer to achieving its goal.
The Great Central Railway (GCR) has just submitted a planning application to Charnwood Borough Council to continue with the next stages of its ‘Reunification Scheme’ for which permission is required. As regular RUDDINGTON.info readers will know, GCR has already raised millions of pounds and already finished three parts of the scheme.
Once completed, the project will reconnect the two separate heritage railways currently operated by GCR and Great Central Railway (Nottingham) GCRN to create an eighteen mile line stretching all the way from Nottingham Heritage Centre in Ruddington to Birstall, just north of Leicester. Centred on Loughborough, it’s hoped this combined vintage train operation will bring economic benefits and protect jobs in the area’s service sector.
General Manager of the GCR, Malcolm Holmes, says: “As always, we are hugely grateful and humbled by the generous donations we receive from around the world to advance the project. This next stage is crucial, so we’re now asking people to contact Charnwood Borough Council and support the planning application.”
Since showcasing new plans for the proposed railway link in April 2024, an additional £50,000 has been raised by supporters towards the next phase of work. Plans now need to be turned into engineering designs and specifications, which they say is likely to cost in the region of half a million pounds.
GCR’s full planning application {P/24/1078/2} can now be found online via Charnwood Borough Council’s ‘Planning Explorer’ portal >>HERE<< – where you can also make comments.
Malcolm continues: “Formally applying for planning consent is a huge milestone for this exciting project. It has required a lot of hard work and investment from our supporters and stakeholders. We’d like to thank everyone who has got behind Reunification and in particular our design consultants and advisers who have helped and guided us through this vital stage.”
You can watch GCRN’s latest video update below:
Donations can continue to be made online >>HERE<< or via post with a cheque made payable to ‘David Clarke Railway Trust’ marked ‘Reunification’ on the back. Cheques should be sent to Lovatt House, 3 Wharncliffe Road, Loughborough, Leics LE11 1SL.
The two sections of the line being reconnected were part of the original Great Central Railway which ran from Sheffield to London. It was closed in 1969 and 500 metres of railway was removed.
GCRN here in Ruddington and GCR in Leicestershire currently welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors each year – although, sadly, no ‘big trains’ have operated with passengers from Ruddington since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
{All above photos and watercolour image of ‘Railway Terrace’ by Alan Hayward, courtesy of GCR)
