Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

The proposition was put forward at one stage that with the ‘curve’ back in place, a rail service could be inaugurated between Manchester Victoria and North East Lancashire coming via Rochdale. Littleborough and Todmorden, with trains turning back at Rose Grove, Blackburn, or what seemed to be the favoured place Accrington. This prompted me to ask, why when there was the possibility of a complete loop? Might it be feasible to have two circular services? Manchester Victoria  Salford Crescent  Bolton  Darwen  Blackburn  Accrington  Rose Grove  Burnley Manchester Road  Todmorden  Rochdale  Manchester Victoria in the clockwise direction, and of course an anticlockwise counterbalancing service calling at the same stations in reverse order? There would of course be some advantages and some disadvantages. The advantages which sprung to mind were, that apart from the estimated £4 millions cost of the work at Hall Royd Junction, there would be little or no additional signalling or track work required along the remainder of the route. Using the term ‘direct’ to indicate no change of train, from the point of view of Accringtonians there would be direct access to Rochdale and two options per hour for going into and out of Manchester. Changing at Todmorden would give travellers the option of changing onto trains going along the Calderdale Line without having to go on to Hebden Bridge. This service would complement the Trans Pennine express services and at an hourly frequency double the alternatives presently available, giving an alternative route into Leeds without having to travel through Halifax and endure the time consuming reversal at Bradford Interchange. It would also increase the frequency of trains to Blackburn from two, which are closely timed to run together, to three with perhaps an improved space between the trains, and double the frequency of those calling at Church & Oswaldtwistle and Rishton in both directions. From Blackburn it would provide commuters with a direct line to Rochdale which they do not at present have, as by bus they had to make at least one change in Accrington (464), Rawtenstall (483) or even in Bolton. There had been discussion about the upgrading of the single line sections of the track between Blackburn and Bromley Cross on the Clitheroe  Manchester line which, now that the pledged funding for the extensions to the light rail network (MetroLink), and better bus infrastructure in Greater Manchester had become available for other projects, could and should be channelled into improvements in the heavy rail network. ( “There was no plan B” . ) Whereas those passengers from the Colne, Nelson and Brierfield areas going to Manchester are required to change trains in Blackburn, should they attempt this rather long winded route, they could change at Rose Grove for trains into West Yorkshire or Rochdale and Manchester. Those wishing to go into Yorkshire currently do have the option of alighting from their trains or buses at Burnley train or bus stations and walking across the town to Manchester Road Railway Station, but this is hardly a satisfactory situation. There were links into the West Yorkshire conurbation from the Pendle area, (then) by Pennine Bus to Skipton (215) and by Transdev to Keighley (25) but none to the more heavily populated areas such as Halifax, Bradford and Leeds. One of the potential disadvantages which were usually cited for not increasing the frequency of services on the line between Blackburn and Bolton were the single line sections. With a will these could be overcome, as they would still only be handling two trains per hour in each direction. It would relieve overcrowding on the Bolton to Manchester section and also provide the option of two trains at intervals from Blackburn, one originating at Manchester Victoria the other from the Clitheroe direction. If the problem that a doubling of frequency could not be overcome had the possibility of operating the Blackburn  Clitheroe section as a ‘shuttle’ service not been explored? With booked connections in Blackburn could time expired but refurbished 142 units be used to serve all stations from the Clitheroe direction? Clitheroe and Whalley already had a bus service which passed through Blackburn Boulevard (then the 225), and those residing in the suburbs of Blackburn from Wilpshire inwards had other frequent buses to supplement this half-hourly Transdev service. So there would be little or no inconvenience to passengers going through to Manchester from the Ribble Valley direction. There could even have been a case for extending the operation of a ‘shuttle’ service as far as Hellifield giving better access to the Yorkshire Dales and beyond to Morecambe and Carlisle, as indeed there once was. This line only saw regular passenger services when the DalesRail service ran on Sundays. With a reversal in Hellifield Station it could also have provided a connection with Skipton and Leeds, and could be a more realistic and viable option than reopening the line between Colne and Skipton, some of which had been built upon. It also provided a diversionary route for trains when the West Coast Main Line was closed, as well as an

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