Railway lines taken out of service in the 60s and 70s could be brought back, under new government proposals.

Around 4,000 miles of track, mainly in rural areas were closed in the 1960s, as part of the 'Beeching cuts'.

Now transport secretary Chris Grayling has said lines could re-open if they unlock jobs, encourage house building and ease congestion, as reported to the BBC.

Work on the Oxford to Cambridge route starts next summer, and plans to re-open routes around Bristol, Birmingham, Exeter and the North East are being considered.

The announcement also includes plans for firms which operate passenger services to manage the tracks their trains run on.

It is a big change from the current situation, in which state-owned Network Rail looks after the track infrastructure, while train services are operated by private companies.

East Coast mainline, which connects London with the North East and Scotland, would be the first service to try the new model from 2020.

Punchline says: Having companies responsible for the tracks as well as the trains seems to be a very logical step, but we will have to wait for a few years to see if it works.

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