East Lancashire rail passengers 'out in cold'

9:20am Thursday 10th January 2013 in News Photograph of the Author By Bill Jacobs, Local government reporter

PLAN Rail developments would promise faster journeys PLAN Rail developments would promise faster journeys

BRITAIN’S train track bosses were last night accused of ignoring East Lancashire passengers in a £37.5 billion plan to invest in rail across the UK.

Blackburn MP Jack Straw said the bulk of the cash was going to the London commuter belt.

Stephen Martin, chairman of Save The East Lancashire Line Association (STELLA), said: “Once again local passengers have been left out in the cold and there is nothing for the East Lanc-ashire line.”

The £37.5bn plan to develop the UK’s railway infrastructure over five years, to paid for partly by more above inflation fare rises, promises faster journeys, 170,000 more peak-time commuter seats and improved reliability.

It includes:

  • A thousand miles of new electrified lines including the Great Western and Midland Main Lines;
  • Providing 20 per cent extra morning peak seats into central London;
  • Providing 700 more trains a day linking key northern England cities and a 10-minute reduction in journey times between Manchester and Leeds;
  • Spending £1bn to improve the network in the South and South West; and
  • Station improvements at Birmingham New Street and Reading, and £4bn upgrading lines in Scotland.

Yesterday a Network Rail spokesman said benefits to East Lancashire in the plan included the £530 million Northern Hub programme for extra trains between Bolton and Manchester with faster journeys to Bradford and Leeds.

He said the Todmorden curve was a separately funded scheme with delivery scheduled for December 2013 The spokesman added that improvements to trains between Blackburn, Clitheroe and Manchester was a separate cash bid by Blackburn and Darwen Borough Council, with Network Rail support which could be delivered by December 2016.

Blackburn MP Jack Straw said: “I’m glad that there is recognition in the National Rail plan of improvements to the Manchester to Clitheroe line, and the Todmorden curve but this spending plan is still biased too much in London and the South-East.

“Few passengers there would put up with such ancient rolling stock as we still have.”

Comments (8)

9:54am Thu 10 Jan 13

GAC says...

Blackburn MP Jack "i couldn't talk while in power" Straw said the bulk of the cash was going to the London commuter belt.


come on jacky boy, its just the same as what hapend while you where in power.
Blackburn MP Jack "i couldn't talk while in power" Straw said the bulk of the cash was going to the London commuter belt. come on jacky boy, its just the same as what hapend while you where in power. GAC

10:07am Thu 10 Jan 13

mavrick says...

It is noticeable that the government is and will be concentrating all its funding where it will return the most votes, simple. Labour has had many opportunities to do the same in it's 13 years of power. I don't recall Jack Straw beating the drum for rail travellers in the past. I am afraid the champagne socialists who jumped on the Blair and Brown bandwagon of pelf dragged labours morals and values down to the lowest common denominator. Greed. I hope the new leadership if elected will be ruthless in redistributing the wealth of the country fairly. we need to finish of transport infrastructure in the north west, rail connections have a vital part to play as well as extending the M65 east into the Yorkshire and its ports, until this type of development is completed the north west will be out of the loop. Sadly political gain by the main parties seems to take priority over the real needs of the country.
It is noticeable that the government is and will be concentrating all its funding where it will return the most votes, simple. Labour has had many opportunities to do the same in it's 13 years of power. I don't recall Jack Straw beating the drum for rail travellers in the past. I am afraid the champagne socialists who jumped on the Blair and Brown bandwagon of pelf dragged labours morals and values down to the lowest common denominator. Greed. I hope the new leadership if elected will be ruthless in redistributing the wealth of the country fairly. we need to finish of transport infrastructure in the north west, rail connections have a vital part to play as well as extending the M65 east into the Yorkshire and its ports, until this type of development is completed the north west will be out of the loop. Sadly political gain by the main parties seems to take priority over the real needs of the country. mavrick

10:36am Thu 10 Jan 13

clickhere says...

mavrick wrote:
It is noticeable that the government is and will be concentrating all its funding where it will return the most votes, simple. Labour has had many opportunities to do the same in it's 13 years of power. I don't recall Jack Straw beating the drum for rail travellers in the past. I am afraid the champagne socialists who jumped on the Blair and Brown bandwagon of pelf dragged labours morals and values down to the lowest common denominator. Greed. I hope the new leadership if elected will be ruthless in redistributing the wealth of the country fairly. we need to finish of transport infrastructure in the north west, rail connections have a vital part to play as well as extending the M65 east into the Yorkshire and its ports, until this type of development is completed the north west will be out of the loop. Sadly political gain by the main parties seems to take priority over the real needs of the country.
Good post. There is little difference between both parties when in power. Fully agree your last sentence, but would extend that to local politics also. But I suppose that's politics!
[quote][p][bold]mavrick[/bold] wrote: It is noticeable that the government is and will be concentrating all its funding where it will return the most votes, simple. Labour has had many opportunities to do the same in it's 13 years of power. I don't recall Jack Straw beating the drum for rail travellers in the past. I am afraid the champagne socialists who jumped on the Blair and Brown bandwagon of pelf dragged labours morals and values down to the lowest common denominator. Greed. I hope the new leadership if elected will be ruthless in redistributing the wealth of the country fairly. we need to finish of transport infrastructure in the north west, rail connections have a vital part to play as well as extending the M65 east into the Yorkshire and its ports, until this type of development is completed the north west will be out of the loop. Sadly political gain by the main parties seems to take priority over the real needs of the country.[/p][/quote]Good post. There is little difference between both parties when in power. Fully agree your last sentence, but would extend that to local politics also. But I suppose that's politics! clickhere

11:09am Thu 10 Jan 13

ProjectRail2000 says...

clickhere wrote:
mavrick wrote: It is noticeable that the government is and will be concentrating all its funding where it will return the most votes, simple. Labour has had many opportunities to do the same in it's 13 years of power. I don't recall Jack Straw beating the drum for rail travellers in the past. I am afraid the champagne socialists who jumped on the Blair and Brown bandwagon of pelf dragged labours morals and values down to the lowest common denominator. Greed. I hope the new leadership if elected will be ruthless in redistributing the wealth of the country fairly. we need to finish of transport infrastructure in the north west, rail connections have a vital part to play as well as extending the M65 east into the Yorkshire and its ports, until this type of development is completed the north west will be out of the loop. Sadly political gain by the main parties seems to take priority over the real needs of the country.
Good post. There is little difference between both parties when in power. Fully agree your last sentence, but would extend that to local politics also. But I suppose that's politics!
Extending the M65 from Colne to Yorkshire, the cost of the project far out way any benefit to the people or the economy here, and I can tell you now that the railways when they were at full strength had a much larger impact on the economy than any road built like the M65,
when we had a proper railway east Lancashire and a much higher working population, and when they cut the railways down we lost so many thousands of jobs, but your M65 never replaced those lost jobs it was the railway the brought those jobs in and not the Bloody M65 which in fact took away many jobs.

However extending the Railway from Colne to Skipton has a far higher cost benefit ratio, this was the outcome of a study over 2 years ago, and the fact remains that in East Lancashire we have the lowest car ownership levels in the country, which will get even lower over the coming years, so what is the point of building on the end of the M65 to take it over the Moss to Keighley West Yorkshire.

By the way, their is a multi national company sitting on the side lines with regards to the railway project, and it was them that approached the SELRAP Executive with their plans, to part fund this project, not only do they want to build 2 inland railway ports, but also fully electrify the line from Skipton North Junction to Preston East Lancashire, which would link the East and West Coast Main Lines, as well as linking the Ports of Humber to the Port of Liverpool once again.


Now about a week or so ago someone on here said was saying they will have to place a Level Crossing on Vivary Way Colne, who ever said that was out of their mind, no transport planner in this land would even think of such a thing, what will happen is we have two options the first being to sink Vivary Way to go under the railway taking out 3 sets of traffic lights at the same time, or build a Bridge over the top of it also taking out a number of traffic lights, which would free up traffic coming in to Colne.


Important meeting coming up this month with Transport Minister and LCC, Nth York CC and Andrew Stephenson MP to talk about a bringing the railway project forward, more to follow.
[quote][p][bold]clickhere[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]mavrick[/bold] wrote: It is noticeable that the government is and will be concentrating all its funding where it will return the most votes, simple. Labour has had many opportunities to do the same in it's 13 years of power. I don't recall Jack Straw beating the drum for rail travellers in the past. I am afraid the champagne socialists who jumped on the Blair and Brown bandwagon of pelf dragged labours morals and values down to the lowest common denominator. Greed. I hope the new leadership if elected will be ruthless in redistributing the wealth of the country fairly. we need to finish of transport infrastructure in the north west, rail connections have a vital part to play as well as extending the M65 east into the Yorkshire and its ports, until this type of development is completed the north west will be out of the loop. Sadly political gain by the main parties seems to take priority over the real needs of the country.[/p][/quote]Good post. There is little difference between both parties when in power. Fully agree your last sentence, but would extend that to local politics also. But I suppose that's politics![/p][/quote]Extending the M65 from Colne to Yorkshire, the cost of the project far out way any benefit to the people or the economy here, and I can tell you now that the railways when they were at full strength had a much larger impact on the economy than any road built like the M65, when we had a proper railway east Lancashire and a much higher working population, and when they cut the railways down we lost so many thousands of jobs, but your M65 never replaced those lost jobs it was the railway the brought those jobs in and not the Bloody M65 which in fact took away many jobs. However extending the Railway from Colne to Skipton has a far higher cost benefit ratio, this was the outcome of a study over 2 years ago, and the fact remains that in East Lancashire we have the lowest car ownership levels in the country, which will get even lower over the coming years, so what is the point of building on the end of the M65 to take it over the Moss to Keighley West Yorkshire. By the way, their is a multi national company sitting on the side lines with regards to the railway project, and it was them that approached the SELRAP Executive with their plans, to part fund this project, not only do they want to build 2 inland railway ports, but also fully electrify the line from Skipton North Junction to Preston East Lancashire, which would link the East and West Coast Main Lines, as well as linking the Ports of Humber to the Port of Liverpool once again. Now about a week or so ago someone on here said was saying they will have to place a Level Crossing on Vivary Way Colne, who ever said that was out of their mind, no transport planner in this land would even think of such a thing, what will happen is we have two options the first being to sink Vivary Way to go under the railway taking out 3 sets of traffic lights at the same time, or build a Bridge over the top of it also taking out a number of traffic lights, which would free up traffic coming in to Colne. Important meeting coming up this month with Transport Minister and LCC, Nth York CC and Andrew Stephenson MP to talk about a bringing the railway project forward, more to follow. ProjectRail2000

12:22pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Reality50 says...

Basically the past four decades.East Lancs has become a backwater as the cotton and textiles industry has diminished and the closure of various rail lines emphasise that. The only hope for an upgrade of railways in the area is the reopening of the Colne-Skipton line or further opening f the Clitheroe Hellifield Settle rail route as both lines would give better access to Leeds from East Lancashire. Certainly having a direct line to Leeds would help East Lancashire and would give an extra avenue to job seekers or those already in work in West Yorks who live in East Lancs-of which there are many particularly from the Asian Community with links to Bradford and Leeds and indeed Keighley.Extending the M65 is a poor idea and upgrading the A56 A59 and the Colne-Keighley Road road be better. Improving rail services between East Lancashire though to Yorkshire is absolutely vital to the regions business and tourism future. The knock on effect to the Yorkshire Dales and Boundary Mill for example would be huge and also Leeds Bradford Airport would geographically be as accessible as Manchester Airport. It is a no brainer.
Basically the past four decades.East Lancs has become a backwater as the cotton and textiles industry has diminished and the closure of various rail lines emphasise that. The only hope for an upgrade of railways in the area is the reopening of the Colne-Skipton line or further opening f the Clitheroe Hellifield Settle rail route as both lines would give better access to Leeds from East Lancashire. Certainly having a direct line to Leeds would help East Lancashire and would give an extra avenue to job seekers or those already in work in West Yorks who live in East Lancs-of which there are many particularly from the Asian Community with links to Bradford and Leeds and indeed Keighley.Extending the M65 is a poor idea and upgrading the A56 A59 and the Colne-Keighley Road road be better. Improving rail services between East Lancashire though to Yorkshire is absolutely vital to the regions business and tourism future. The knock on effect to the Yorkshire Dales and Boundary Mill for example would be huge and also Leeds Bradford Airport would geographically be as accessible as Manchester Airport. It is a no brainer. Reality50

12:30pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Reality50 says...

I realise there is already a direct service to Leeds via Todmorden and Hebden Bridge but it is time consuming. A high speed Burnley Leeds service via Colne and Skipton down into Leeds would take under 40 minutes if the Colne Skipton line was reopened and Bradford even less. As for politics all 3 main political parties seem to me to be pro car and anti rail and although UKIP generally have strong points such as on the EU,their attitude to HS2 suggests UKIP too are anti rail. The Greens are pro rail however they are also pro horse and cart and frankly most of their policies are barmy.
I realise there is already a direct service to Leeds via Todmorden and Hebden Bridge but it is time consuming. A high speed Burnley Leeds service via Colne and Skipton down into Leeds would take under 40 minutes if the Colne Skipton line was reopened and Bradford even less. As for politics all 3 main political parties seem to me to be pro car and anti rail and although UKIP generally have strong points such as on the EU,their attitude to HS2 suggests UKIP too are anti rail. The Greens are pro rail however they are also pro horse and cart and frankly most of their policies are barmy. Reality50

2:46pm Thu 10 Jan 13

clickhere says...

It's rather horses for courses. (regional)Railways don't go where the passengers want to go.
Of course if you were starting afresh you wouldn't start from where we are now - look back at Mavericks post - no long term planning.
It's rather horses for courses. (regional)Railways don't go where the passengers want to go. Of course if you were starting afresh you wouldn't start from where we are now - look back at Mavericks post - no long term planning. clickhere

3:33pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Noiticer says...

In 2010/11 London and the SE received 45% of the total spent on public transport investment. The North West received just 13%. The Dept of Transport usually say that most journeys are made by rail within and to London to help justify these figures but forget to say that if we in the NW had the same amounts of investment in rolling stock, electrification and new lines the numbers using the railway in our region would snowball. Just watch how passenger numbers will grow when the lines between manchester and Blackpool & Leeds are electrified in the next few years.And the numbers using the Blackpool tramway have rocketed since the new trams were introduced. Things will only improve in the North when there is either a regional transport authority and/or a regional assemble or both. Government in England is far too Londoncentric and we suffer as a result.
In 2010/11 London and the SE received 45% of the total spent on public transport investment. The North West received just 13%. The Dept of Transport usually say that most journeys are made by rail within and to London to help justify these figures but forget to say that if we in the NW had the same amounts of investment in rolling stock, electrification and new lines the numbers using the railway in our region would snowball. Just watch how passenger numbers will grow when the lines between manchester and Blackpool & Leeds are electrified in the next few years.And the numbers using the Blackpool tramway have rocketed since the new trams were introduced. Things will only improve in the North when there is either a regional transport authority and/or a regional assemble or both. Government in England is far too Londoncentric and we suffer as a result. Noiticer

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