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Waverley fact sheet 2: Re-opening of the Guildford to Cranleigh
Railway Line
Introduction
In 1994, Surrey County Council
commissioned a study to look into rail improvements in the County
and in particular, at the South West Trains operating area which
includes Waverley Borough.
The aim of the study, carried out by
Colin Buchanan and Partners was to identify worthwhile new services
and improvements which could be made to the rail infrastructure
in Surrey to allow new or revised services to be introduced. The
aims of the report were:
• to relieve pressure on the highway network
• to improve the modal share of rail services
• to encourage the use of rail services as part of a balanced
transport system
The study included a range of options
to make use of existing, upgraded, reopened or new infrastructure
and included a series of short, medium and long term proposals.
Brief History of the Guildford to
Cranleigh Railway Line
The original Guildford to Horsham via Cranleigh line was opened
in 1865 by London Brighton and South Coast Railway. It was a single
track railway with passing loops. The line was never very profitable
and the 1963 ‘Reshaping of British Railways’ report indicated
a flow of under 5,000 passengers per week. As a result the Guildford
to Cranleigh line was closed in 1965. Since that time, Cranleigh’s
population has grown considerably, although it has now stabilised,
and this therefore justifies investigation into its re-opening.
The Buchanan Report
The study estimated that some 500 people would transfer from car
to rail per 12 hour day. This figure did not take into account
the additional new trips which might be generated or trips diverted
from public transport which could be significant. A cost of £24
million was estimated for the base, civil, electrical and signal
engineering works. It did not include land acquisition, legal
costs and bridge works. As an example, an additional £750,000
was estimated to replace the missing bridge across the Wey.
In the study preliminary economic analysis
suggested that the reopening of the line would not be feasible.
The first year income was estimated at only 3% of the capital
cost, even without taking into account operating costs. British
Rail traditionally require an 8% return to justify investment.
The County Council wished to consider
the level of support for the idea before going towards the next
stage of commissioning a more detailed analysis and full economic
investigation.
The above costing was based on the traditional
‘heavy’ rail specification. Waverley Members requested that further
investigations be made into alternative forms of rail provision,
such as light rail or a tramway system. They also took into account
that consideration would have to be given to the fact that the
former track is now a long distance footpath and bridleway and
gave support to the commissioning of a more detailed report.
Feasibility Study for Route Enhancement
British Rail Projects carried out Stage 1 of a two part detailed
study into the technical feasibility and potential for line reinstatement
for Railtrack during early 1996. This time, the cost of the scheme
was estimated to be considerably less than originally anticipated,
heavy rail at some £13.4 (+- 50%) if electrified and £11.1 m (+-
50%) for diesel operation. LRT (light rail) is estimated at £14.1
m (+- 50%). This is based on having a single track and an hourly
service.
This is a very detailed report, and
includes many photographs and other considerations. You may come
into the Planning and Development Department to look at it and
take notes. However, it is very large and copies cannot be made.
Approval for carrying out stage two of the study was given by
the County Council’s Transportation Planning Joint Sub-Committee
as well as the Waverley Partnership Area Transportation Planning
Sub-Committee (PATS) and Guildford PATS. Support to going on to
the next stage was also given by Waverleys Planning and Development
Committee and Environment and Leisure Committees. This looked
in detail at the economic and environmental aspects of the proposal,
such as how many people would use the new service.
PATS is made up from both Surrey County
Council and Waverley Borough councillors. Waverley PATS gave a
‘cautious welcome’ to the report, but did accept the recommendation
to proceed with a thorough ‘business assessment’ of the proposal
asking that the views of the relevant parish councils as well
as Guildford Borough Council be sought. They were concerned about
a number of issues, including:
• potential pressures for major development
in Cranleigh
• whether the proposed I hourly service would be attractive enough
to provide a viable service
• consider the impact on viability of existing bus routes
• consider a park and ride alternative
• demands for further car parking at Bramley and Cranleigh
• consider more fully options other than heavy rail
• light rail options going further into Guildford should be considered
These and other considerations were taken
into account in the second part of the study
The outcome of the second part of the
study was reported to the Waverley PATS on 3rd June 1997.
In the study, two scenarios were considered:
either a hourly service or a half hourly service between Cranleigh
and Guildford. The journey time would be 12 minutes compared to
at least 25 minutes by car during the morning peak.
The Research
The technique adopted was to focus on the residents of Cranleigh,
Bramley and Wonersh:
• to distribute and analyse approximately 4000 postal travel diaries;
• to undertake 200 in depth face to face stated preference interviews
with residents in the catchment area;
• to distribute 3835 questionnaires (887 replies received 23%)
The research found that only 12% of trips
made from the area were to Guildford or London, with 60% of the
trips made to other parts of Surrey, many of which would not be
accessed by reopening the line.
The main result of the research was
that, despite the high levels of car use, the amount of trips
transferring to rail would be very low. Few car users travelling
during the interpeak would transfer to the new rail services,
but many bus users would transfer; in fact between 8 and 9 times
more bus users would convert to to use the rail than car users.
The Business Case
The total cost of the work would be £14.24 million. As a result
of the research, it is estimated that the line would not recoup
its total costs. Running costs include staff, maintenance of the
two stations, track charges, leasing stations and trains. One
of the major drawbacks is the cost of leasing additional trains,
but even if this were not the case the services would still not
make enough money to recoup the total costs. If the capital costs
of building the line did not have to be repaid, then the line
would make a profit after 4 years (with one train an hour) or
in 15 years with 2 trains an hour. It would require substantial
capital investment from the public sector in order to progress
and as this is not likely to be forthcoming the end result is
a negative business case.
Environmental Implications
The main environmental issues are change to the local landscape,
noise effects and the impact on the Downs Link. These matters
were discussed in the earlier Borough reports. Phase 2 of the
study has not taken these issues much further, other than to say
that if the proposal were to proceed then an environmental assessment
of the more detailed designs would be necessary.
The Views of PATS
The general view of the PATS Committee was that since no business
case could be made, there was no basis for continuing investigation
of the proposal, but the route should be protected from development.
The PATS Committee resolved that:
(a) the current and future importance of the future rail route
be recognised as a transport link and be protected through the
statutory planning process;
(b) the views of Waverley and Guildford
Boroughs be sought and reported to the Transportation Sub Committee
of the County Council; and
(c) further work should cease on the
proposal to reopen the Guildford to Cranleigh rail line as a heavy
rail link.
It was recommended that:
1. the County Council be advised that the Borough Council accepts
the outcome of the research that the re-opening of the rail link
between Guildford and Cranleigh is not economically viable and
does not wish work on the proposal to proceed any further; and
2. the current and future importance
of the route of the former Guildford to Cranleigh railway be recognised
as an important movement corridor and that it be protected through
the statutory planning process.
This fact sheet can be found on the
Waverly Borough Council Web Site at:
http://www.waverley.gov.uk/education/factsheets/factsheet2.asp
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