{"id":13628,"date":"2013-11-26T12:32:47","date_gmt":"2013-11-26T12:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/?p=13628"},"modified":"2013-11-26T12:32:47","modified_gmt":"2013-11-26T12:32:47","slug":"folkestone-harbour-branch-line-closure-proposed-consultation-open-until-feb-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/folkestone-harbour-branch-line-closure-proposed-consultation-open-until-feb-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Folkestone Harbour branch line – closure proposed, consultation open until Feb 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Folkestone<\/p>\n

Network Rail has announced that it wants to close the one mile long Folkestone Harbour branch line<\/a> and its terminus at Folkestone Harbour.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Folkestone<\/p>\n

The line hasn’t been used by passenger services as part of the national rail network since 2001, with only chartered services operating along the picturesque line.<\/p>\n

Network Rail have now signalled their intention to close the line at the earliest opportunity, with the\u00a0consultation document<\/a> laying out the argument for closure:<\/p>\n

\"Folkestone<\/p>\n

The Folkestone Harbour Branch is a one mile long branch line connecting\u00a0Folkestone East sidings with Folkestone Harbour station. Historically, the\u00a0branch provided passenger and freight connections to the Continent linked\u00a0with the ferry service operating from the Harbour.<\/p>\n

Since the opening of the\u00a0Channel Tunnel, cross-channel ferry operations from the Harbour have
\nceased and the last regular timetabled train was in 2001. Since the cessation\u00a0of regular traffic in 2001, the branch has been used by charter services, the\u00a0majority of which had been promoted by Venice Simplon Orient Express\u00a0(VSOE).<\/p>\n

The final charter operation was in March 2009, after which the line was closed\u00a0under a Short Term Network Change whilst Network Rail assessed future\u00a0transport requirements and operating costs.<\/p>\n

Alternative facilities for VSOE to\u00a0accommodate and manage passengers have been provided at Folkestone
\nWest station. Network Rail\u2019s subsequent assessment concluded that that\u00a0expenditure on maintaining the line is neither an appropriate nor responsible\u00a0use of rail industry resources.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Folkestone<\/p>\n

Voice your opinion<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a0consultation about the proposed closure<\/a> is now taking place until the 28th February 2014, with the public being invited to email their views to\u00a0folkestoneharbourbranch.consultation@dft.gsi.gov.uk<\/a>\u00a0or write to:<\/p>\n

Folkestone Harbour Branch Consultation, Zone 3\/15,
\nGreat Minster House,
\n33 Horseferry Road,
\nLondon, SW1P 4D<\/p>\n

\"Folkestone<\/p>\n

More:
\nFolkestone Harbour railway station photo feature (2008)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Consultation documents:<\/strong>
\nClosure of Folkestone Harbour branch and station<\/a>
\nPDF,\u00a083.1KB,\u00a012 pages<\/p>\n

Folkstone Harbour network and station closure notice<\/a>
\nPDF,\u00a033.5KB,\u00a01 page<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Network Rail has announced that it wants to close the one mile long Folkestone Harbour branch line and its terminus at Folkestone Harbour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17,193,90],"tags":[278,29,612,1200],"class_list":["post-13628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-photos","category-places","category-railways","tag-folkestone","tag-kent","tag-railway-station","tag-railways"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/folkestone-harbour-1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pQI7P-3xO","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13628"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13628\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13635,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13628\/revisions\/13635"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}