List of unused railways

Financial problems

Australia

• Queensland Railways, Cooktown to Laura Railway railway, Laura River Bridge - test train only

France

• Bussang Pass Line - approximately 50% of 8,287 m tunnel completed, work abandoned 1935^[1]
• Corsica
  • Caldaniccis - Propriano
  • Porto-Vecchio - Bonifacio

Spain

• Engaña Tunnel and railway

United Kingdom

• Manchester and Milford Railway - Llangurig branch
• Leeds and York Railway (Tadcaster to Copmanthorpe) - started 1846, abandoned 1849 (part subsequently used for a branch line to a mill)
• Newport Pagnell to Olney- started 1865 abandoned 1866

Greece

• Kalambaka–Kozani–Veria line; approximately 65% of 117 km between Kalambaka and Kozani completed, work abandoned due to financial crisis (July 1932)
• Thessaloniki–Tsagezi line; less than 5% of about 150 km completed, work abandoned due to World War II (1940)

United States

The Panic of 1873 interrupted the construction of a number of railroads, including the Pennsylvania and Sodus Bay, which was graded from end to end and only needed rails.

Political reasons

France

• Ligne transcévenole, ROW completed minus tracks to Monastier-sur-Gazeille in 1939, declassified 1941
• Tenay–Hauteville–Lompnes,^[2] ROW almost completed, rails partially laid, inauguration train only

United Kingdom

• Ouse Valley Railway - started 1866 abandoned 1867

For future needs

Australia

• Central railway station, Sydney, platforms 26 and 27.
• St James railway station, Sydney, platforms 2 and 3.
• North Sydney railway station, flying junction tunnel for never built line to Manly.
• Wynyard platforms 1 and 2 to North Sydney never used for rail, used for trams, then converted to car parking use.
• North Sydney to Chatswood four-tracking, partially built never used.
• Redfern to Sydenham six-tracking, partially built, never completed.

Changed plans

Australia

• Normanton–Croydon Railway - original destination was Cloncurry
• between Campsie and Belmore earthworks for a triangle from Enfield were built but never used due to change in plans.

Partially built

Africa

• Kassala, Sudan - Teseney, Eritrea - never finished (1930s)

Australia

• Gulgong to Maryvale section of Sandy Hollow–Maryvale railway
• Casino to Bonalbo - construction abandoned in 1930s.
• Guyra to Dorrigo - construction abandoned in 1950s.

United Kingdom

• Bishops Castle Railway - line linking Mid-Wales and Shrewsbury never completed due to financial problems.
• Maidstone West to Tovil section of the Headcorn and Maidstone Junction Light Railway
• Rolvenden to Tenterden Town section of the Cranbrook and Tenterden Light Railway
• Chessington South to Leatherhead- construction abandoned in 1939
• Edgware to Bushey Heath extension of London Underground Northern Line. Work started 1938, suspended 1940 due to wartme and then officially abandoned 1953.
• Sennybridge to Llangammarch Wells branch of the Neath & Brecon Railway. Earthworks and fencelines are apparent along the Cilieni valley to the summit of the line at about 310m about sea level near the MOD simulated German village 'Cilieni' just south of Tirabad. This is over half the length of the line. The route would have had a major bridge over the River Usk and a tunnel just north of Sennybridge to gain access to the Cilieni valley and would have made Llangammarch Wells a junction with the LNWR's Central Wales route. Work stopped on 9/9/1867 due to the bankrupty of the contractor John Dickson who also built the N&BR.^[3]
• Newport Pagnall to Olney extension of the Wolverton to Newport Pagnall line. Work started in 1865 and stopped shortly afterwards as many railway mania schemes did at this time when the bank financing these speculative schemes, Overend and Gurney, collapsed. Various partially complete cuttings and embankments can be seen along the line of route as far north as Emberton and are visible on old maps. Had the line been completed, Olney would have become a junction of the Northampton St Johns-Bedford line.^[4]
• Manchester and Milford Railway-Llanidloes to Strata Florida was abandoned as being too expensive to complete with a heavily engineered summit section, including a 2.2km tunnel and a long high viaduct over the Afon Ystwyth at Pont Rhyd-y-groes. The section from Llanidloes to Llangurig was briefly opened and there are traces of works on both of the Myherin Tunnel portals at Blaen Myherin and Cae Gaer Roman fort. There is also evidence on maps between Llangurig and a point 2km west at Pont Aberbidno where it would have crossed to the south side of the A44. The line would have travelled via the Afon Merin valley to Devil's Bridge before heading south to Strata Florida. The M&MR completed the rail link from Carmarthen to the north by diverting the line at Strata Florida to Aberystwyth.^[5]
• Ruthin and Cerrig-y-drudion Railway was a 2' gauge railway partially built from Ruthin towards a junction with the never started North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway Beddgelert-Corwen route at Cerrig-y-Drudion. The line crossed the Clocaenog Forest hills with a summit tunnel at Pennant before crossing the Afon Alwen and a second summit at about 340m following the B5105 into Cerrig-y-Drudion. There is evidence of construction along the south side of the Afon Clywedog valley between Rhewl and Bontuchel where work ceased on failure of the contractor 1884.

United States

• Cincinnati Subway - construction abandoned 1929
• Pennsylvania & Newark Railroad - a freight cutoff of the Pennsylvania Railroad from Morrisville, Pennsylvania to Newark, New Jersey. Construction suspended 1916
• South Pennsylvania Railroad - construction ceased 1885; many tunnels reused for Pennsylvania Turnpike
• Southern New England Railway from Palmer, Massachusetts to Providence, Rhode Island - construction abandoned in 1914

Temporary use such as military

Australia

• During World War II a number of extra crossing loops were built between Werris Creek and Wallangarra, but were not brought into use.
• During World War II triangle junctions were built at Griffith, Stockinbingal, which were removed soon after the war. A triangle at Goobang Junction near Parkes from west to south was only partly built. It was finally completed around 2000.

Interrupted for decades

Australia The Sandy Hollow–Maryvale railway was commenced in the 1930s, when construction was suspended for decades. The section from Sandy Hollow to Gulgong was completed in the 1980s.

Interrupted by war

Germany

• Work suspend on duplication and extension of Freilassing–Berchtesgaden railway.

Built as part of other schemes

• Roxborough, Philadelphia