Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

North West Region, which would be submitted for funding later on in the year, and if successful trains could be running through from Manchester to Blackburn via Burnley Manchester Road and Accrington within two years. It was now estimated this project would cost in the region of £8 millions. July Freight through Accrington was something of a rarity with the exception of the VTG tanker train, but on the 21 st Freightliner liveried 66:510 was noted travelling east to west with a long rake of empty Heavy-Haul hopper wagons. August At the inaugural meeting of the Cabinet Public Transport Group, the reconnecting of the Burnley to Hebden Bridge line with that through Todmorden was on the agenda. Having corresponded with Network Rail it seemed as though a fully clockwise and anticlockwise train service to and from Manchester Victoria Station via Bolton, Darwen, Blackburn, Accrington, Burnley (Manchester Road), Todmorden and Rochdale would be a distant objective. For these fully circular services to operate again, as they had done in the era of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway pre-1923, then the section of single track between Bromley Cross and Darwen would have to be doubled and this was unlikely in the foreseeable future. Even though Accrington now had a railway station it could be proud of, this was not reflected in the standard of the rolling stock which Northern Rail was using to provide the services. The 142:xxx units, despite extensive refurbishment were well past their best even though they were still relatively reliable. ( When they were first introduced based on the design of the Leyland National bus, they were possibly the saviours of the East Lancashire Line which was under serious economic threat of closure, contributing to improve the viability of the service .) The 150:xxx units which often replaced them in service were roomier, but lacked sufficient seating at peak times. Even the Trans-Pennine 158:xxx sets were quite long in the tooth and sometimes restricted to two-cars, whereas at times even three-car sets were pushed to cope. It was obvious that pressure needed to be put on the Train Operating Companies to invest in new rolling stock. September What was of great concern was the prospect of closing the ticket office at Accrington’s new eco-friendly railway station was being suggested. Having spent £2 millions on its construction, increasing passenger use by between 15% & 30% whichever figures one choses to believe, and providing a much safer environment in which people could travel, this prospect bordered on the insane. The idea that leaving the only station in the borough at which one can purchase a ticket and information unmanned, beggared belief. How long would it be before the vandals and graffiti artists turn it into a urine-stinking eyesore and yet blight an already dowdy area of the town centre? This craziness needed to be stopped in its tracks before it went any further and undid all the positives that had occurred since it was opened only a few short months ago. ( Was this another case of one step forwards, two steps back? ) October Following on from observations on the reinstatement of the Todmorden Curve, which would allow access by rail from North East Lancashire to Manchester Victoria in the clockwise direction, reasons why it will take so long in the planning and cost so much were contained in the following correspondence to Graham Jones MP. Dear Sir, We noted the suggestions put forward that we should consult historical documents which map out the way the original junction was laid, as a template on which we could base our work.. The feasibility study did examine the possibility of restoring the curve on its previous alignment. However, this was rejected, primarily on the grounds that it would require the curve to be far tighter than the current standards permit. In addition, the smaller radius would require trains to run more slowly over the curve, which would have timetable implications and would result in higher maintenance costs. However, in order to minimise reworking and design, we are proposing to use the original connection at the Stansfield Hall end of the curve. Yours sincerely, Patrick Butcher,

444