The apple of their eye

WISBECH in Cambridgeshire, once blessed with two stations on two separate lines, is today one of the largest towns in the country without a local railway station. Reopening of the mothballed seven-mile line from March has been an issue of considerable importance to the local community ever since it was closed to passengers in 1968.

Many believe the town has suffered considerably since then, and today the town is notable for its high level of unemployment and below-average health and education. And those who support reopening argue that the line would connect Wisbech’s population – currently around 35,000 – to the national rail network, enabling easier access to workplaces and providing direct access by rail to Cambridge. This in turn would help to revive an