List of closed railway lines in the United Kingdom

This list is for railway lines across Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which are now long abandoned, closed, dismantled, disused or mothballed.

Across the United Kingdom, examples exist of opened railways which formerly constituted cross-country main trunk lines as well as many more which served more local, or exclusively industrial, needs.

Some of the included lines have re-opened, whether in part or in full, following a period of closure, such reopenings have taken the form of independent preserved heritage railways, and of expansions to state-backed National Rail and local rapid transit and light rail networks.

Many more of these former railway lines have also been converted to cycleways, footpaths and highways.

England Name of lineBuilder(s)Route (from/to)Closure dateNotesAbbotsbury RailwayAbbotsbury to Upwey29 November 1952Addiscombe LineSERElmers End to Addiscombe2 June 1997Partly open as part of Tramlink Alcester–Hatton branch line Great Western Railway Alcester to Hatton,via Great Alne (to passengers)1951 (to all traffic) Aldeburgh branch line Great Eastern Railway (LNER) Saxmundham to Aldeburgh viaLeiston and Thorpeness Part of the branch still open (freight only) Aldridge–Brownhills branch line Midland Railway (LMS) Aldridge to Chasewater,via Brownhills (to passengers)1962 (to all traffic) Part of the line (north of Brownhills) now preserved as theChasewater Railway. Allhallows-on-Sea to Stoke Junction SR Stoke Junction to Allhallows Southern branch off the Hoo branch line (off theNorth Kent Line) (opened 14 May 1932) Alnmouth–Alnwick branch line York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway YN&BR(LNER) to (to all traffic) Most of the former branch now being restored from a resited Alnwick terminus, as theAln Valley Railway. Ambergate–Pye Bridge line Midland Railway (LMS) Pye Bridge to Ambergate, (via Butterley) A 3 Mile stretch of the line, now preserved forming theMidland Railway – Butterley.Amble branch lineYN&BRChevington to Amble1930 (to passengers)1969 (to all traffic)Amesbury and Military Camp Light RailwayLSWRGrately to Bulford Camp1963 Ardsley to Laisterdyke line Great Northern Railway (LNER) Laisterdyke to Ardsley,via Dudley Hill and Morley (to passengers)13 March 1968 (to freight)1981 (to all traffic) Opened by the Leeds, Bradford & Halifax Joint Rlybefore taken over by the GNR in 1865 Ashbourne line London & North Western Railway (LMS) Uttoxeter and Ashbourne to Buxton line 30 October 1954 (to regular passenger traffic)October 1967 (to freight traffic). Most of the line now survives as a walk/cycle path called the Tissington TrailAshover Light RailwayClay Cross CompanyClay Cross to Ashover14 September 1936 (to passengers)31 March 1950 (to all traffic)Axholme Joint RailwayGoole to Haxey15 July 1933 (to passengers)5 April 1965 (to all traffic) Axminster-Lyme Regis branch line London and South Western Railway (Southern Railway) Axminster to Lyme Regis via Combpyne (to all traffic) Bacup branch line Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway (LMS) Stubbins Junction to Bacup, via Rawtenstall, Clough Fold and Stacksteads (to regular traffic)1972 (to all traffic) Part of the former branch (through Stubbins Junction to Rawtenstall, via Irwell Vale), now part of the East Lancashire Railway. Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway Great Western Railway Cheltenham to Banbury    Banbury branchGreat Central RailwayBanbury to Culworth Junction Banbury to Verney Junction branch line Buckinghamshire Railway (GWR) Banbury to Verney Junction (Where it joined the Varsity Line) Freight services lasted until June 1966 Bank Top Colliery Line North Staffordshire Railway (LMS) Blythe Bridge to Bank Top Portion of the line, now preserved as the Foxfield Railway.Mostly a colliery line, throughout its heyday. Barnard Castle to Middleton-in-Teesdale branch line Tees Valley Railway (LNER) to (to passengers) (to all traffic)Barnsley Coal RailwayStairfoot Junction to Nostell1930 (to passengers)1961 (to all traffic) Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway London and South Western Railway (SR) Basingstoke to Alton (to passengers)19?? (to freight) Batley-Beeston Line Great Northern Railway (LNER) Beeston Junction to Batley, viaTingley and Woodkirk (to passengers)1964 (to all traffic) Some parts of the Line still exist... Tingley Viaduct (still stands), as do both Tingley and Woodkirk station sites (both of whom long overgrown), and Soothill Tunnel.Tingley railway station was also a Junction station on both the loop line, and the Ardsley to Laisterdyke line.Bawtry to Haxey railway lineGNRBawtry to Haxey1 April 1965Bedale branchYN&BRNorthallerton to Bedale1954 (to passengers)Line remains extant as part of the Wensleydale RailwayBedford–Hitchin lineMidland RailwayBedford to Hitchin30 Dec 1961 (to passengers)1964 (to freight) Bedford–Northampton line Midland Railway (LMS) Bedford to Northampton (to passengers)1981 (to all traffic) Benwick Goods Railway Great Eastern Railway (LNER) (to all traffic) Bexhill West branch lineSERCrowhurst to Bexhill West15 June 1964 Billingham-on-Tees to Port Clarence branch line Clarence Railway/NER (LNER) to /Seal Sands Power Station, via and (to passengers, east of Haverton Hill) (to regular passengers, west of Haverton Hill) (to all passengers) (to goods) The line remains open to freight traffic from the chemical and biochemical processing plant cluster around Haverton Hill and Seal Sands Birkenhead Dock Branch LMS Rock Ferry to Bidston Dock, via Mollington Street and Canning Street 16 February 1985 (to passenger traffic)1987 (to regular goods)2008 (to all traffic) Entire branch line still extant, but disusedBirkenhead RailwayHooton to West Kirby17 September 1956 (to passengers)May 1962 (to all traffic)Birmingham Snow Hill to Wolverhampton Low Level LineGWRBirmingham to Wolverhampton1972 (to passengers)August 1992 (to all traffic)Part of the line reopened as part of the Jewellery Line. Whilst another part of the line reopened as part of the West Midlands MetroBishops Castle RailwayCraven Arms to Bishops Castle1935Bishop's Stortford–Braintree branch lineBishop's Stortford to Braintree3 March 1952 (to passengers)17 February 1972 (to all traffic)Blenheim and Woodstock branch linePrivate (absorbed by GWR)Kidlington to WoodstockMarch 1954 Blyth and Tyne Railway B&TR/NER (LNER) A former network of primarily colliery lines in south east Northumberland and North Tyneside (to passengers, north of and Monkseaton)1971-1983 (in stages, to all traffic on North Tyneside Loop) Some of the former B&TR constituted part of the North Tyneside Loop which was officially incorporated into the Tyne and Wear Metro on .Much of the northern section of the network remains open for freight traffic serving the Port of Blyth and Lynemouth Power Station; as of July 2020, there is an active project seeking to reintroduce a to passenger service using much of this surviving freight network.A section of B&TR's original main line was reopened during the 1970s as a test track for the Tyne and Wear Metro rolling stock and is now largely preserved (between Percy Main and ) as the North Tyneside Steam Railway.Bolton and Leigh RailwayKenyon Junction to Bolton29 March 1954 (to passengers)1969 (to all traffic)Border Counties RailwayRiccarton Junction to Hexham15 October 1956 (to passengers)1 September 1958 (to all traffic)Bordon Light RailwayBentley to Bordon16 September 1957 (to passengers)4 April 1966 (to all traffic)Brampton Railway28 March 1953 (to all traffic) Brentford branch line Great Western Railway Southall to Brentford Dock (to passengers)December 1970 (to regular freight) Part of the Line still extantBricklayers Arms branchLondon and Croydon Railway/