A West Midlands councillor has called for an improved cycle network for the region to encourage people to get fit and active, involving the conversion of some disused railways.

A blaze which ripped through the Grade II-listed Friar Gate goods warehouse in Derby was started deliberately, it has been confirmed.

The old railway lines to Ventnor and Newport could be reopened as part of ambitious plans to restore routes lost to the Beeching cuts.

The reintroduction of a passenger service between Consett and Newcastle has to be a top priority according to Richard Holden, the local MP, who is leading a campaign to reinstate the line.

Proposals to make part of the old Bury-Bolton railway into a bridleway have been given the green light as part of a £650,000 funding package from the government's Growth Deal.

Department for Transport officials have moved the project to reinstate the Colne-Skipton railway from ‘decision to initiate’ to the ‘develop’ stage of the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline.

Reinstating the half-mile Wortley Curve near Leeds could considerably boost rail travel into and out of Bradford, according to a report.

Tender documents for a 10-year framework deal to undertake inspection work for Highway England’s Historical Railway Estate have been published, valuing the work at £30 million.

Highways England has restarted its works in Queensbury Tunnel, but the timing has been questioned by a group campaigning for its reopening.

Campaigners fighting to save Queensbury Tunnel from closure have claimed that 'non-essential' work is underway at the site despite the Government-mandated lockdown.

A transport minister has assured the local MP that the government is committed to restoring the rail link to Skelmersdale.

Overgrown railway sidings are to be turned into a cycle and walking path to complete a four-kilometre leisure link between Preston and Grimsargh village.

Plans to demolish the old railway bridge over Green Lane - between Redditch and Studley - to build two new homes have been withdrawn by Redditch Borough Council.

Lancashire resid­ents could be on track for better rail connections thanks to a cross-party group of MPs campaigning for reinstatement of the Burscough curves.

The fabulous station building at Bakewell, which welcomed its last train in 1968 and is currently used as an office, has just gone on the market with a guide price of £320,000.

Public opinion is being sought on plans to reopen the disused Maid Marian line from Kirkby to Nottingham.

Plans are being drawn up for a new cycling route linking Halstead and Chappel along the trackbed of a disused railway.

Planners have rejected an application from Redditch Borough Council for the demolition of a disused Victorian railway bridge and levelling of an embankment to make way for two new houses.

A section of former railway, which many people use to walk along the Wye Valley near Penallt, has had to be closed after Storm Dennis caused a cutting slope to slip, blocking the route.

Cromdale Station, which opened in 1863 as part of the Strathspey Railway, has been put up for sale 52 years after it was converted into a private house.

The first step to reopening a stretch of line between Oswestry and Gobowen has taken place with the blessing of a transport minister.

A Robert Stephenson-designed turntable - thought to date from 1837 - has been unearthed at Birmingham's former Curzon Street station which is set to be transformed for HS2.

Sustrans is looking for a design team to transform Glasgow's disused Carmyle Viaduct into a walking and cycling route.

MPs have joined campaigners in calling for a feasibility study into the possibility of reopening the line between Skelton Junction in Timperley and Glazebrook.

The local MP has written to the Transport Minister to support the reopening of the former railway between Stafford and Shrewsbury.

A first step has been taken in a bid to reinstate the line between York and Beverley with East Riding of Yorkshire Council voting in favour of applying for part of a £500 million government grant.

The Transport Secretary has thrown his weight behind the campaign to reopen Queensbury Tunnel and even suggested that it could be used for light rail rather than a walking and cycling route.

Campaigners seeking to reinstate the Uckfield-Lewes line have been given new hope following an application by MP Maria Caulfield for a share of a £500 million Department for Transport fund.

Councillors have ruled out making improvements to the cycle route through Kelmarsh Tunnel in Northamptonshire as it would be ‘unwise and premature’ due to the potential reopening of the railway.

Campaigners have condemned Highways England for spending almost £5,000 of taxpayers’ money every week on a CCTV camera in the disused Queensbury Tunnel, taking the total bill to almost £100K since last October.

A parish council has unanimously backed plans to investigate reopening the Waterside line for passengers to serve the 1,500 new homes planned for the former Fawley power station site.

Dorset Council has revealed plans to tear up a section of Weymouth's disused 'harbourside tramway' to investigate how the tracks could be removed in future to improve safety.

A fresh call has been made to reopen a 'much-needed' railway in Renfrewshire, with think-tank Railfuture Scotland developing a map of required service improvements including a link through Elderslie, Bridge of Weir and Kilmacolm.

A programme of railway reopenings in Derbyshire - including the Peak District main line from Matlock to Buxton - is being studied by a local MP after she met with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to discuss her proposals.

Denbighshire Council should apply for money to reinstate the line from Corwen to Denbigh according to its transport lead who believes the 60s closure was folly.

A new railway linking Aylesbury, Oxford, Milton Keynes and Bedford has finally been given the green light from the Government, including the reinstatement of a disused section of line.

Five miles of disused railway in the West Midlands have been reopened for walkers after a group of volunteers spent the last two years clearing the route.

Plans to reopen the line connecting Bere Alston to Tavistock have been given a boost after government launched a fund to help restore historic railway lines closed in the 1960s.

The disused line to Fleetwood could reopen after the government launched a £500 million fund to kickstart the restoration of railways closed more than 50 years ago.

Ambitious plans to reopen the railway between Kemble and Cirencester have taken a step closer to reality after a funding shortfall for a feasibility study was plugged by Cotswold District Council.

Restoring direct rail services between Beverley and York should be considered under a new government fund aimed at bringing mothballed lines back into use.

The reopening of the Dumfries-Stranraer rail link is one of a series of options being taken forward to try to improve transport in south-west Scotland.

A survey of the historic Mechanics' Institute in Swindon will be carried out over the next few weeks after council officials gained access, allowing stakeholders to decide what can be done with the building.

A new network of four cycling and walking trails have been backed by councillors in Cornwall, including one running mostly along a disused railway.

A railway which hasn't been used for around 80 years could be reopened to connect a major tourist attraction with a popular narrow gauge line.

Work on the restoration of the Great Central's railway station in Leicester has almost been completed as part of its multi-million pound transformation to accommodate hotels, shops, flats and offices.

A section of disused railway which disappeared in 1985 could be reinstated as part of a review of the way the proposed HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail connect with each other in West Yorkshire.

A senior Leeds city councillor has reiterated calls to reopen some of district’s lost railway stations to help combat climate change and get more people using public transport.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has made clear that he wants to find a 'viable way forward' for the proposal to reopen Queensbury Tunnel as a cycle path as the row over its future continues.