RAIL bosses have been urged not to forget about an East Lancashire to Manchester service after a transport review contained no mention of it.

Council chiefs are hopeful that their £8million bid to run a half-hourly daily service between the borough and Manchester will find favour with the Department of Transport's rail planners.

Proposals unveiled as part of the Transport Green Paper this week offered improvements to Bolton station and longer carriages along certain routes - but detailed no specific proposals for the Blackburn to Manchester service.

Leading councillors are continuing to press home their case for double-tracking, on sections of track between Blackburn and Darwen stations and Bromley Cross, which would allow trains to run every 30 minutes.

The project, which would benefit the entire Clitheroe to Manchester line, is seen as a key plank of the borough's economic development strategy.

Not only does the bid have the backing of local MPs Jack Straw and Janet Anderson, but officials at the Northwest Development Agency have also weighed in with their support for the initiative.

Rail user groups and neighbouring Greater Manchester authorities have also thrown their weight behind the scheme.

Coun Mike Lee, executive member for resources at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, believes extra funding is essential if the service is going to cope with future demand.

He said: "The council fully supports the development of a safe, reliable and sustainable rail system with improved access to stations that has been announced by the Government this week.

"But with more people using the service to Manchester from our borough we need to make sure our trains can cope with the demand.

"Having a viable train service is in line with our local transport plans and is essential not just for people living in the borough and working in Greater Manchester, but also to encourage more visitors and investment in our two towns.

"We want to see additional funds coming into the Pennine Lancashire area and in particular the Clitheroe to Manchester service.

"As the passenger numbers continue to grow we need the added investment in trains and track to ensure that we match the pace of regeneration in our area."

An 80 per cent increase in the number of passengers using Darwen station has been reported over the past five years and an estimated one million per year use Blackburn's main town centre station.

Rail passenger growth over the next 10 years is expected to run at 44 per cent, especially with the spectre of congestion charges looming in many areas.