[Closed] Bike paths running adjacent to railway lines - joined up thinking

It'll give better access to steal the copper wire

There could be a secure fence between the railway and the bike path 🙂

Hs2 is inter-city, cycling should be intra-city.

Realistically, most people aren't going to cycle between towns and cities. But most people could cycle the last couple of miles of a journey, once they're off the train.

The cyclepath alongside the Cambridge guided busway from StIves is brilliant. 20k of mostly empty perfectly flat smooth tarmac.

Travelled from Zurich to geneva on Sunday on the train and there was paths plenty on the way. Not fenced off particulary as they seem to trust bikers to keep off the lines. If i could post pics i could show some photos of the cycle lanes around towns and the 'velostations' they have which were pretty impressive

I'd like to see them put one alongside the Great Western line from London to Bristol; Box Tunnel might prove to be a slight obstacle, as would the long embankment westward out of Chippenham.
Oh, and the various bridges over rivers, etc.

The HS2 line doesn't seem like joined up thinking, so how can this be?

Here in Perth, they have a freeway with a bike path down the side and a railway through the middle. It's a great idea and provides safe cycling.

I guess as it's not already built then planning something is before hand is easier than retro fitting based on already constructed infrastructure. Imagine the up roar if people were to have their gardens shortened for a bike path!

Yep - just signed it.
Any additional cycle routes are welcome - particularly if they are designed in at the start and are not in sub- terranian cuttings where you see little of the surroundings......

The missing link on the Radstock to Frome Sustrans path will eventually run parallel to the track from a quarry

The current work on the new Borders railway from Edinburgh to Galashiels doesn't have a cycle track included. Madness!

Ideal opportunity to provide a safe route into Edinburgh as well as a very scenic bike track for residents and tourists.

Would it not be amazing if all disused railways tracks were converted to bike tracks. That would involve real joined up thinking.

We can't even get disused lines which have been stripped of track and adopted by the council into any sort of use around here.
Prime candidate runs between two large villages where the cycle link is currently a rural A road, and quite steep in places. There is a disused railway which has bridges and cuttings turning it into a constant gentle gradient running 30yds from the road, but no formal access onto it, and also due to the method used to strip the track out, it is horribly bumpy which rules out any transport cycling.
The crying shame is that all the necessary materials for a sustainable path are there, they just need a day or two with a mini digger and roller and the path would be transformed into a fast rolling clean path. Add a couple of ramps out of the track and it would be something which would become the preferable route between the villages.

lerk: I assume Sustrans are aware of that one? If not then drop them a line.

petrieboy - Member
The cyclepath alongside the Cambridge guided busway from StIves is brilliant. 20k of mostly empty perfectly flat smooth tarmac.

Just a shame it didn't make it to Huntingdon...would have been a perfect drive/cycle commute for me.

The guided busway was even better before the buses started running on it!

I'm still not sure whether it was worth the money though, not seen any real benefit to having it and the St. Ives car park always seems on the empty side. It is a nice cycle route though.

tiggs121 - Member
The current work on the new Borders railway from Edinburgh to Galashiels doesn't have a cycle track included. Madness!

Ideal opportunity to provide a safe route into Edinburgh as well as a very scenic bike track for residents and tourists.

Would it not be amazing if all disused railways tracks were converted to bike tracks. That would involve real joined up thinking.

Ridiculous indeed. I've just sent an email to the Scottish transport minister, the MSP's in the borders and Sustrans Scotland to ask why. I won't hold my breath.

GrahamS
Never thought of them... Has been mentioned in council village forum but was not recieved well (probably wasn't deemed for the greater good - in the finest hot fuzz way!)

The guided busway was even better before the buses started running on it!

I'm still not sure whether it was worth the money though, not seen any real benefit to having it and the St. Ives car park always seems on the empty side. It is a nice cycle route though.

They are building one near me at the moment. The route is an old railway and was good for a fast muddy ride, could get from near Wigan to Trafford Park without going near a road till the very end.

All blocked off at the moment whilst Balflour Beatty work their magic and has rendered some nearby loops useless till this thing is built.

Realistically, most people aren't going to cycle between towns and cities

Well you say that, but my wonderful old mother reckons that motorways should have a cycle lane..
I'm not quite sure what the thinking is behind it, or even if there was any thinking.. she's a bit batty

Cycling between cities is a little like the chicken and the egg. At the moment if you want to cycle between places you generally have two choices. Busy, dangerous, uninviting A-roads, or wiggly winding back roads that make the journey twice as long and often hard to navigate.

I know plenty of people who have cycled from London/Reading to Bath/Bristol along the K&A tow path. Its flat, fairly direct and (except for boaters/dog walkers) untrafficked/safe.

I live in Bath and often visit Bradford. A nice route to cycle is almost impossible to work out, there are no logical routes. It becomes a bodge of mixing sustrans routes (good) with very busy A-roads (bad). If I could cycle the motorways or the train tracks, I'd do it at least 4 times a year.

There's a railway service track near here that joins 2 towns on a little used line. The track is mainly more than 20m from the railway line and in places more like 40m away. The railway property is so wide as the line once connected to a wagon works and was part of one of the biggest sidings in the world. That's all gone now.

It was used for many years by locals to cycle to work from one town to the other in either direction. It's far safer than the only viable road route.

Then British Transport Police made it target number one and spent weeks hiding in bushes issuing fixed penalty notices. I'm not aware of any accidents on the track, anti-social behaviour, vandalism etc but yes it was trespass. It is a shame as it makes an excellent safe traffic free route.

a bodge of mixing sustrans routes (good) with very busy A-roads (bad)

I don't think the HS2 bike path is a bad thing, it just wouldn't be my number one choice if there was going to be a load of infrastructure. It sounds like it would be good for long distance tourers, but probably not so much help for the people who currently have to drive their kids to school because the roads are too dangerous.

Granted that NCN are not always great, and occasionally poor. But in general, much better than nothing. If nothing else, they are usually well sign posted which is great if your touring.

If I was running the country, I'd make it so that every new train track, and every new road had an independent equivalent cycle route. In fact, I'd extend that to airports too 😉