Petition to Re-Open the Douglas to Peel Railway

Presumably though given the number of lines that have been reinstated/are being reinstated it would not be that difficult to come up with a 'back of an envelope' price estimate

I dont know what the plan is for the service but if its 'commuter' you must have a figure for the number of journeys on that corridor so there is an idea of the potential market.

Meter Gauge DMU's & EMU's are in production so you can get an idea of how many might be needed & the cost

Then make your case

 

What happened to Isle of Man Week? When I was growing up it was a central part of the cycling calendar, but it seemed to die a death about twenty years ago. The one lap time trial and three lap road race were prestigious events to win - I think Chris Boardman still holds the one lap record.

Tom

 

I think cycling went through quite a dip and this event got left behind. I suppose unlike the TT/Manx, cycle races are available across, so it doesn't have quite the same pull to make people cross the Irish sea

On the railway equipment front, I do think they should have looked at getting some PCC cars from Belgian Metre-gauge trams when they upgraded to low-floor jobs in the 90s. Clearly for high days and holidays you'd want the tramcars, but for shoulder services to try and drag up some commuter numbers it might be less expensive way to test the water.

 

The IoM Gov have already pledged m1.3 to improve the footpath/cyclepath on the Ramsey line including bridging Glen Mooar and Glen Wyllin.
Ray.
Edited

 

It would certainly make more sense than trying to do the whole line to Peel. Some years ago they tried a Park and Ride from a large car park in Pulrose but it was hardly used. IMO the reasons for this were 3 fold. Commuters were charged to park and to ride the bus. It was too close in - car drivers had already been stuck in tail backs before getting to Pulrose. People had an aversion to leaving their cars in that neighbourhood. If one was to have a rail based park and ride it would have to be further out - at least Union Mills or even Crosby but I can't think of a any large area suitable for a car park until you get to St.Johns.
Of course you'd still have the same problem of building encroachment on the trackbed, the TT access road, missing bridges and underground services. It still wouldn't help traffic coming from the South or East.
Ray.

 

I hope they do it for 20t axle-load bicycles...

 

Nope those new fangled flying machines will never catch on...

I visit the IoM with my family, we always manage a train or tram ride or two but they aren’t by themselves enough to keep two children under ten amused for long...The ferry trip is modestly expensive but the trip is part of the adventure, and given I live in the north west it’s no more expensive or time consuming than driving all the way to the Isle of Wight ferry!

Regarding the Peel line, we often stay near Peel and the town is (arguably) a better visitor destination than Port Erin but I have to agree, I can’t see how a reinstated line would be viable for visitors or commuters. Despite the occasional hysteria about traffic chaos in the IoM press the island really doesn’t suffer major commuting delays or problems compared with most UK towns and cities, not enough to get people out of their cars and on a train. Buses, cycles and motorbikes would seem to be a more realistic travel solution.

Its a crying shame the Peel and Ramsey lines were lifted, perhaps if they had remained for just a few more years they could have been taken on by volunteers but on a small island the available pool of people and finance will always be a limiting factor.