The 50 proposals to build or reopen rail lines and stations were received from England and Wales. Credit: Government of UK.

UK Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris has announced that 50 bids have been received to build or reopen rail lines and stations that were shut down during the Beeching cuts.

The proposals were received from England and Wales and will be reviewed by an expert panel that includes Network Rail chair Sir Peter Hendy.

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It is expected that the successful schemes will be announced by the end of the summer.

The 50 proposals include proposals from the North-East to reopen the line at Ferryhill, County Durham, and to restore the Consett-Newcastle Connection.

Proposals were received from the South-West to renovate the Newquay line, reopen Charfield station, and restore the railway from Bodmin to Wadebridge.

Heaton-Harris said: “Receiving so many bids once again underlines how passionate people are about reconnecting communities.

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“Local MPs, councillors and community leaders are the greatest champions of their local lines, and I look forward to working with them to ensure the projects with the greatest potential have the support they need.

“Improving local transport links is vital as we level-up access to opportunities across the country, reconnect communities and kickstart our recovery from Covid-19.”

This announcement follows the previous news in May, which stated that ten bids will be provided with the share of Restoring Your Railway ‘Ideas Fund’ first round.

The schemes were each awarded £50,000 for the acceleration of plans to improve local connectivity and rail connections, as well as ease congestion.

In February, the UK Government planned to invest £20m to build new railway stations and improve railway connectivity in the country.