HOLT - Connecting to the town centre
Not surprisingly, when the railway through Holt closed the County Council was quick to see the possibility of utilising the trackbed to provide a much needed bypass for the town. However, the road was constructed so as to leave enough room for a single track railway to be built alongside it.
- From the NNR station the line would first have to cross the old A148 road. Originally there was a bridge carrying the road over the railway, but the reduced status of the road would make a level crossing a realistic proposal.
- A short curve brings the old trackbed into alignment with the Holt bypass. The railway would run alongside the road to the town centre
- The original station site is now mostly disappeared but enough space remains for the provision of a basic layout. Although a major engineering project the most acceptable solution may be for the railway to be housed in a cutting so that it could run beneath both Station Road and Norwich Road before continuing along the old route towards Melton Constable
The present NNR Holt station is actually on the easternmost fringes of the town in the parish of High Kelling, just short of the point where the railway used to cross the old A148.
It has proved possible to construct a full scale station there due to the fact that extra land was acquired at the time of the railway's original construction so that this could eventually become the site of a junction with a branch to Blakeney, which was never built.
The 'new' Holt station is currently nearing completion and utilises buildings relocated from elsewhere, including Stalham's station building and Thursford's goods shed.
A live webcam shows progress on the station - and of course the trains arriving and departing - CLICK HERE