Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

the Scarborough to Blackpool service did not currently stop had been identified as Rishton, Mill Hill and Bamber Bridge, and if they were to include these stations in the limited stop service Arriva would be taking passengers from the First North Western trains, so it was in the best interests of First to make a robust bid. The Trade & Industry Secretary no less, had directed that the SRA must identify passenger requirements in order to secure the best possible benefits to the region. In addition to this came the news that not one of the nineteen stations managed by First North Western on the East Lancs Line had been given a certificate of security and these included Blackburn’s new station. In fact not one of the 308 stations across the country for which First was responsible had been given a secure award. In answer to this damming report First had stated, “We are working with British Transport Police, Railtrack, local councils and other TOCs to improve this situation. However, the upgrading of each station alone is costing in the region of £25,000 just to install CCTV surveillance.” December Winter was the time of the year when the local railway lines were closed for essential engineering work, usually on Sundays but on occasions over the whole weekend. Fraser Eagle had been co-ordinating the Rail Support Services for the ones this year to replace local stopping and Trans-Pennine trains. Besides vehicles being sourced from local operators Blackburn Transport and Rossendale’s Ellen Smith operations, coaches were coming from Pioneer of Rochdale and Hoggies from Barnsley. 2002 January The Baxenden Area Council met and was informed that the footpath leading from Hill Street down to the disused railway line, had been washed away due to heavy rain. It had been requested that work to repair this damage and to divert water away, should be undertaken without delay. May On Saturday the 4 th , the St James Tripper was to Spalding and/or Peterborough, the locomotives being the double-headed combination of 31:106 with 33:108. June For the first time for many years First North Western were to introduce a summer timetable, which included a through Sunday service between Colne and Manchester via Accrington and Blackburn. There were seven trains in each direction at two-hourly intervals, missing out the stations at Hall’ I’ Th’ Wood and Entwistle, and running non-stop between Bolton and Salford Crescent, then Salford Crescent to Manchester Victoria. Commencing on the 2 nd , they would operate up until Sunday, September 22 nd . August A feasibility study had been announced for the East Lancashire Line, to be undertaken by two companies Posford Rail along with VST of York. Commissioned by the East Lancashire Partnership, it would examine the possibility of quadrupling the number of train service through Hyndburn and also the Ribble Valley also the improvements which would have to be implemented to the signalling to allow a train to run at the frequency of every 15 minutes instead of just one per hour, as was currently the case. The study was intended to form part of a ‘Rapid Transit Network’ through East Lancashire. November The most heavily penalised of all the Train Operating Companies, Arriva Trains North, had been excluded from bidding for the Trans-Pennine operating franchise. But this did not necessarily mean that the two remaining bidders First Group/Keolis or Connex Transport UK Ltd, would battle it out between them. The current service between Scarborough and Blackpool North was not included in the initial bid, but would form a separate project. This meant that Arriva could still be successful if they chose to make a bid. Negotiations were still ongoing between Arriva and the Strategic Rail Authority for Arriva to continue operating the East Lancs Section during the interim period between 2003 and the allocation of the new franchise during 2004. However, it was confirmed that if they wished to include this section in their bids, both First Group/Keolis and Connex Transport UK Ltd, could do so if they wished. Arriva was currently in dispute with its train conductors and had been fined £2 million for cancellation of services. December Due to yet another strike by First North Western staff, coupled with the long running dispute between Arriva and their conductor/guards, there were to be no trains at all through Accrington on the weekend before Christmas. 2003 February At a meeting of the Great Harwood Area Council, a resident requested work on the Railway Walk to Rishton, to include the pruning and tidying up of the track bed of this former East Lancs Avoiding Line, which had now been devoted to recreational uses. March Baxenden Area Council met again, when the meeting was informed that this disused railway line between Accrington and Baxenden Station was due to be ‘tarmacked’ as part of the National Cycleway Network. A request was made that a narrow strip would be left alongside this surface for the purpose of horse riding. It was pointed out that the initial funding would be spent on improving the verges and

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