Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

apace. By the beginning of the fourth week of the month at least one floor of the main structure was in place, and the drainage was being laid. Despite delays caused mainly by the prolonged spell of extremely cold weather, it was possible the project would be completed on time if the work continued at this rate. April The framework of the lower storey of the Booking Hall for the new railway station was now in place and the surface of the car park was being rolled ready for marking out. Progress had now reached the stage where parts of the superstructure were now in place, along with some of the fascia stonework. So it might still be possible for the new rail facilities to be up and open for business on schedule. Perhaps this was just as well, for if the Task Group at Lancashire County Council got their wish, then Accrington would be coping with more trains. The chair of the Task Group, County Councillor Sarah Fishwick, had reported the findings of the Group had concluded they were in favour of several projects which would enhance rail services not only in East Lancashire, but in other parts of the County. Top of the list was the reinstatement of the Todmorden Curve. This would enable trains to run from Manchester Victoria through Rochdale and Todmorden to Burnley Manchester Road, Accrington and Blackburn, where they would return from whence they came. The estimated cost of putting back the 500 metres of track with its associated signalling has been put at between £7 millions and £9 millions. It was estimated this would halve the journey time between Burnley and Manchester. It was also revealed the Blackburn, Darwen, Bolton, Salford and Manchester line was another section of track which the Task Group was in favour of upgrading. Further schemes which have the backing of the Group included reinstating the Burscough Junction curve to enable trains to run direct between Preston to Southport, and improving capacity and frequency on the section of line between Kirkham and Blackpool South. What failed to receive approval was the idea of running commuter trains during the week between Rawtenstall and Bury, on what are the tracks of the preserved East Lancashire Railway. The next stage is for the Task Group to put together what was described as a “robust and coherent case” for funding for each of these projects. August Observations on the progress on Accrington’s new, eco-friendly railway station, had revealed work was drawing to a conclusion. The walkways had now been surfaced, the landscaping was well underway and the interior fittings of the booking hall itself were taking form. Not only would there be steps for the able-bodied but ramps for those less mobile to access the platforms, and these were much less severe in gradient than the ones on the Paxton Street side which they were to supplement. The plans for the development over the next fifteen years of Accrington town centre were made available for public scrutiny at both the Carnegie Library and the Town Hall. On the railways it showed that the Trans-Pennine links to Yorkshire and to the west to Preston and beyond were good, but connections to Manchester and the south were “indirect and slow”. It repeated what had now become an old chestnut about reinstating the Todmorden Link, to facilitate faster and more frequent links. Another alternative was to improve the service from Clitheroe to Manchester via Blackburn, Darwen and Bolton. With the borough councils of Hyndburn, Blackburn (with) Darwen and Burnley along with Lancashire County Council and the other pro-area groups, they would stand a fair chance of success in part, if not for all of these proposals. In Accrington of course we would shortly have a new railway station, but it had been recognised that Huncoat Station was in urgent need of refurbishment, and whilst Rishton Station had already seen some minor improvements more were required. It was some fourteen years since a plan to develop a retail site close to the Hyndburn boundary at Whitebirk was first mooted. For various reasons it was thrown out, but now we were informed the rekindled scheme was at an advanced stage. At a meeting of the Community Rail Partnership held in Ossy Mills some time ago, the idea was put forward for a new railway station in the vicinity of the existing retail park. The £2 millions price tag was challenged on the grounds that an amount of money so great would be better spent on Accrington’s then rather inadequate facilities, or on one of the other stations in the Borough, Church & Oswaldtwistle, Huncoat or Rishton. ( Later I was informed, off the record, that this was a “pie in the sky” suggestion which would never see the light of day !) September What goes on along our stretch of the East Lancashire Line normally is restricted to Northern Rail’s stopping services between Colne and Blackpool South, or the Trans-Pennine Express services between York and Blackpool North, but recently it had been noted some freight movements were operating on the line. They were a far cry from the freight which used to use this Trans-Pennine route, even during the tired last days of steam in 1967 and later during the diesel era. By using the facilities of a

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