Railway To Greenway

Redundant rail lines provide green corridors for people and wildlife in Herts. Countryside Management Service officer Ellie Beach discusses improvements to a St Albans route.

- Ellie Beach

THERE are miles of redundant railway lines criss-crossing Hertfordshire’s countryside. Once the domain of trains, these routes still have a vital role to play in helping people travel without using their cars, and contribute to a wider network of nonmotorised transport corridors. A legacy of the Beeching Cuts of the 1960s the routes have become shaded by trees and vegetation, once prominent historic features are hidden, and signage is poor, all of which makes access to and use of the routes challenging.

The Alban Way – a former 6.5 mile long branch line between St Albans and Hatfield – is one such route that has now been reinvigorated for both people and wildlife. Bringing these much-loved corridors back to life gives local communities the opportunity both to enjoy them and to make use of them on a daily basis. Having written a five-year Greenspace Action Plan (GAP) for the route, Countryside Management Service (CMS) has been working closely with owners St Albans City and District Council, to implement the actions.

Over the past few years, CMS has been successful in securing more than £165,000 of external funding towards improvements along the St Albans section of the Alban Way. The funding has allowed for some of the aspirations in the GAP to become reality, and although challenging at times, the rewards from the projects have been worthwhile.