Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

advantage of this site was its close proximity to the railway, but it was not so convenient for the town centre shops and was not easily accessible to buses under the present traffic conditions. Never the less it could be part of an overall transport strategy for the East Lancashire area. This wasn’t a good month for the trains either, as an Arriva Trans-Pennine Express hit a boulder near Portsmouth on the section of track between Burnley and Todmorden. The problem was due to a landslide that caused the obstruction to roll onto the track. The Diesel Multiple Unit was unable to continue through to Hebden Bridge, so passengers were transferred to a westbound train, and brought back to Blackburn. The train was not derailed, and none of the fifty or so passengers suffered injuries that necessitated hospital treatment. Network Rail had launched an investigation. First North Western Trains had rekindled its ‘Revenue Protection Plan’ to catch fare dodgers, and in the first twelve months had brought successful convictions at an average rate of five per week. Commercial Director Denise Lennox, who was pleased at the success of the initiative, stated that it was illegal not to purchase a ticket at the first available opportunity. “Nobody likes to think that they are subsidising people who have no intention of paying, and so the scheme has had the full support of honest passengers”. Brought in to coincide with the commencement of the school holidays, a helicopter would be used by British Transport Police and local forces to patrol East Lancashire’s railway network from the air. The chopper would carry a BTP Spotter who would stay in radio contact with motorcycle rapid response units, in order to run the culprits to ground. The national figures made for appalling reading with 53% of all train delays due to vandalism, amounting to a staggering 775,000 minutes of time, at an estimated cost of £150 million. East Lancs had one of the worst records for vandalism on the line, and in the year 2000 to 2001 there were more than 200 hours of delays, caused by 437 reports of trespass and deliberate damage. Last year alone there were nearly 500 reports of obstructions on the line, 30 cases of arson, 1,000 of missile throwing, 400 of deliberately endangering safety, and 350 of criminal damage. Apparently the vast majority of incidents occurred between four in the afternoon and eight in the evening. August The Strategic Railway Authority had given Accrington Station a ‘secondary’ classification, one which had made it less likely to receive funding for improvements. This in real terms translated into a cut in any funding of 50% for any schemes. The whole of the route between Gannow Junction and Todmorden was given a ‘rural’ classification which meant it was very unlikely that anything other than basic maintenance would be invested on it. The result of this, according to the pressure group Rail Future, meant that it was more likely that the services on these lines would deteriorate. Sir Richard Bowker, Chairman of the SRA, explained, “This is so more investment could be targeted at the Inter-City network and commuter services in and out of London and the south east, where it was best spent. It would not be a loss of all investment, just a reduction in what could be spent”. The Baxenden Area Council met and the Chairman pointed out that work by LCC was being carried out to the bridges, embankments and verges on the disused railway between Accrington and Baxenden Station, and work on the paths for horse riders would commence later in the year. If the East Lancashire Partnership’s plans came to fruition, then the area could see a Tram-Bus out on service. This was an ambitious scheme to blend the better features of a guided busway, with those of a light rapid transit system. Although details of how the cars would be powered were as yet sketchy, it was thought that they could be either diesel engined, pick up current from a third rail, or both. A consortium of six councils with that of Lancashire County Council had commissioned studies to examine all forms of transport in the county, including the ‘heavy rail’ option. Two studies, one by Preston based TAS, and the other by Halcrow whose headquarters were in Leeds, were preparing reports that would be published towards the end of the year. Put at a cost of £150 million the project funding would come partly from the private sector and Europe, with the Strategic Rail Authority overseeing the franchising process. When completed the vehicles would travel in purpose built lanes to connect directly with Manchester’s Metrolink. This would enable the residents of North East Lancashire to access city centre Manchester in half an hour. A double blow had hit East Lancashire’s railways recently, as the Strategic Rail Authority had classified the Blackpool North to York and Scarborough Trans-Pennine service as a “minor secondary” route. The implications were that spending could be halved due to this grading, and that timings could increase as track replacement and improvements to infrastructure was cut. This was doubly difficult to

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